Patient Factsheet Get Healthy & Fit with Active Transportation

The document promotes active transportation—human-powered travel like walking and cycling—as a way to integrate physical activity into daily life. It highlights health benefits, including reduced risks of chronic diseases and obesity, as well as mental health improvements. Economically, it notes that active transport is a low-cost alternative to car ownership, which can cost approximately $10,000 annually. Environmentally, it argues that active transport produces no greenhouse gases or air pollution, unlike cars. Finally, it emphasizes that active transportation increases community access for the 20-40% of people who cannot drive.

• Active transportation, defined as human-powered travel for destinations like work or school, includes walking, cycling, wheeling, skating, skateboarding, and kayaking.
• Integrating active transportation can lower the risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. Research indicates that every hour of moderate or vigorous weekly activity can lower the risk of premature death by 4% to 9%.
• Active transportation aids in weight management; specifically, walking an additional kilometre daily is associated with a 4.8% reduction in obesity risk, whereas spending an hour daily in a car is linked to a 6% increase in obesity risk.
• Active transportation is a low-cost alternative to motor vehicles, which are estimated to cost approximately $10,000 per year to own, insure, and maintain.
• Unlike cars, which are significant sources of greenhouse gases and air pollution contributing to climate change, active modes of transportation produce neither.
• Active transportation improves accessibility for the estimated 20-40% of people in a typical community who cannot drive due to expense, ability, or age.

APA

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (n.d.). Patient Factsheet Get Healthy & Fit with Active Transportation. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CAPE-AT-Patient-Active-Transp-2018.pdf

Chicago

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Patient Factsheet Get Healthy & Fit with Active Transportation. n.d. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CAPE-AT-Patient-Active-Transp-2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |title=Patient Factsheet Get Healthy & Fit with Active Transportation |url=https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CAPE-AT-Patient-Active-Transp-2018.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianassociationofphysiciansfortheenvironmentndpatient, author = {{Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}}, title = {{Patient Factsheet Get Healthy \& Fit with Active Transportation}}, institution = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, url = {https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CAPE-AT-Patient-Active-Transp-2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }