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Abstract
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OBJECTIVES:
To estimate the number of walking steps resulting from shifting short motorized trips to walking at a population level and determine the weight gain from not operating this transfer.
METHODS
Analyses are based on data from the 2008 Origin-Destination Survey carried out in the Greater Montreal Area (Canada). This survey collects geocoded information on all trips (motorized or not) made by 5% of the population during a typical weekday. Using appropriate stride lengths for various population segments, short motorized trips were converted into steps to see how many steps per day could be performed by transferring these trips to walking. Until they are performed, these steps are accounted for "steps in reserve".
RESULTS
During a typical 2008 weekday, 7.72% of daily motorized trips were flagged as walkable. These trips account for 608 million steps, an average of 2380 daily steps per person. Shifting short motorized trips to walking would allow 8.33% of the population to increase its level of daily physical activity.
CONCLUSIONS
Shifting short motorized trips to walking offers a valuable opportunity for increasing daily physical activity and might also help reduce weight gain at a population level.
Language: en |