December/January 2010/2011 (vol. 07/4)

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Research Plus

Re cycling schemes

A systematic review (25 studies met inclusion criteria) found little good quality evidence to confirm that community or workplace based schemes to encourage cycling as part of health promotion and/or environmental initiatives actually increase the level of cycling at population level. For example, the introduction of a US scheme to subsidise employees who chose not to commute to work by car, resulted in only a slight (0.1%) increase in the proportion of trips made by bicycle at eight intervention workplaces; but there was a 1.1% increase in cycling at the control workplace. One randomised controlled trial did show significant improvements in cycling among obese women who had been given individual education by a doctor, ‘physical activity prescriptions’ and the free use of a bicycle.

British Medical Journal 2010; 341: c5293

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Occupational Health at Work December/January 2010/2011 (vol. 07/4) pp44