Active travel may have positive effects on health outcomes , but there is little robust evidence to date of the effectiveness of active transport interventions for reducing obesity .
BACKGROUND Increasing active travel ( primarily walking and cycling ) has been widely advocated for reducing obesity levels and achieving other population health benefits .
However , the strength of evidence underpinning this strategy is unclear .
This study aim ed to assess the evidence that active travel has significant health benefits .
Good intentions and received wisdom are not good enough: the need for controlled trials in public health
In the 1970s Archie Cochrane noted that many healthcare procedures and forms of organisation lacked evidence of effectiveness and efficiency , and argued for improved methods of evaluation , moving from clinical opinion and observation to r and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) . His arguments gradually became accepted in medicine , but there has been considerable resistance among policymakers and research ers to their application to social and public health interventions . This essay argues that opposition to RCTs in public health is often based on a false distinction between healthcare and community setting s , and sometimes on a misunderst and ing of the principles of RCTs in health care . It suggests that just as in medicine , good intentions and received wisdom are not a sufficient basis for making public policy and allocating public funds for social or health improvement
Active travel may have positive effects on health outcomes , but there is little robust evidence to date of the effectiveness of active transport interventions for reducing obesity .
BACKGROUND Increasing active travel ( primarily walking and cycling ) has been widely advocated for reducing obesity levels and achieving other population health benefits .
However , the strength of evidence underpinning this strategy is unclear .
This study aim ed to assess the evidence that active travel has significant health benefits .