There’s been a lot of discussion as to how our society can be changed to encourage more active living, and a recent review focuses on various ways to encourage active living that result in either financial savings, or even pay the person, to follow the more active plan.
I’d like to poll my readers about some strategies that have been looked at in research trials (as discussed in this review) – please comment on this blog post at the bottom to tell me what you think would work or what wouldn’t:
1. Would you cycle to work more often if you were paid, let’s say, $5 per day by your employer, to do it?
2. If public transport was subsizided, would you use it more often? (you’d be walking to and from public transport locations, thereby increasing exercise)
3. If a $2 toll booth was installed on the road between your home and work, would you opt for a bicycle, the bus, or walking instead? This was done in Stockholm, Sweden, and resulted in 25% less car journeys.
4. What if you were paid not to use a car park? In California, this resulted in a whopping 39% increase in active communting.
5. If bicycles were free in your city, would you use them more often? This is true in some cities, including the city I love and once called home, Copenhagen, Denmark (pictured above) – check out the CityBike system!
At the end of the day, we need to change our society to promote a more active lifestyle – the question is how to do it…..
Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2013
Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen
