World Health Day 2022

Last month marked World Health Day, a prominent date in the calendar to help raise awareness for the importance of our health and looking after ourselves. Transport and health are directly linked, and our travel behaviour can have direct impacts on preventing health implications, both directly and indirectly.

As the UKs goal of being net-zero carbon emitting by 2050 grows ever closer, the importance of making active travel choices at every opportunity by walking and cycling becomes ever more important. Ditching the car for short journeys and switching to an active travel method helps to massively reduce your carbon footprint, whilst also contributing personally to a healthy lifestyle. Recent guidance provided by the NHS states that just 10 minutes of ‘brisk’ walking a day is enough to maintain good levels of health, helping to improve cardiovascular fitness, reduce excess body fat and reduce the risk of heart disease and strokes. Indirectly, active travel can have huge benefits for people’s health. Currently carbon emissions being emitted from petrol and diesel powered vehicles contribute towards an increased risk of respiratory diseases due to the polluting nature of these gases.

Switching away from vehicle use can not only bring positive impacts to yourself but also to those around you, so why not give walking or cycling a go the next time you need to pop out for a short journey and feel the benefits!