The purpose of this study was to update the evidence on the health benefits of cycling. A systematic review of the literature resulted in 16 cycling-specific studies. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies showed a clear positive relationship between cycling and cardiorespiratory fitness in youths. Prospective observational studies demonstrated a strong inverse relationship between commuter cycling and all-cause mortality, cancer mortality, and cancer morbidity among middle-aged to elderly subjects. Intervention studies among working-age adults indicated consistent improvements in cardiovascular fitness and some improvements in cardiovascular risk factors due to commuting cycling. Six studies showed a consistent positive dose-response gradient between the amount of cycling and the health benefits. Systematic assessment of the quality of the studies showed most of them to be of moderate to high quality. According to standard criteria used primarily for the assessment of clinical studies, the strength of this evidence was strong for fitness benefits, moderate for benefits in cardiovascular risk factors, and inconclusive for all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality, cancer risk, and overweight and obesity. While more intervention research is needed to build a solid knowledge base of the health benefits of cycling, the existing evidence reinforces the current efforts to promote cycling as an important contributor for better population health.

Context-The Global Positioning System (GPS) represents an innovative way to objectively assess the spatial locations of physical activity behavior.Purpose-The aim of this systematic review was to determine the capability of GPS to collect high quality data on the location of activities in research on the relationship between physical activity and the environment.Evidence acquisition-Published and unpublished articles identified from seven electronic databases, reference lists, bibliographies and websites up to March 2010 were systematically searched for, appraised and analysed in summer 2010. Included studies used GPS to measure the spatial locations of physical activity and some form of environmental analysis related to the GPS data. The capability of GPS was expressed in terms of data quality which in turn was defined as the proportion of GPS data lost in each study.Evidence synthesis-24 studies met the inclusion criteria. Data loss was positively correlated with the measurement period for which participants were asked to wear the GPS device (r=0.81, p<0.001). Major reasons for data loss included signal drop outs, loss of device battery power, and poor adherence of participants to measurement protocols. Data loss did not differ significantly between children and adults or by study sample size, year of publication or GPS device manufacturer.Conclusions-GPS is a promising tool for improving our understanding of the spatial context of physical activity. Our findings suggest that the choice of an appropriate device and efforts to maximise participant adherence are key improving data quality, especially over longer study periods. ContextPhysical inactivity is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. 1 Various strategies have been proposed to encourage populations to become more physically active. 2,3 A multilevel approach is increasingly advocated [4][5][6][7] as social ecological models of health posit that policies and changes in the natural and built environment which encourage physically active lifestyles may be as important as interventions at the individual or social level. Recently, two principal approaches have been used to assess potentially relevant environmental characteristics related to physical activity (PA): the assessment of environmental perceptions using questionnaires such as the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS), 8 its short version NEWS-A 9 or the European Project ALPHA questionnaire; 10 and the objective assessment of the environment using either audit instruments or Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Whilst audits have a number of benefits, auditing is time-consuming and expensive for larger areas. In contrast, GIS provide an efficient tool for collating and synthesizing routinely available environmental data for large areas. 11,12 The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite based global navigation system that provides a precise location at any point on the Earth's surface. GPS was initially ...

Accurate measurement of travel behaviour is vital for transport planning, modelling, public health epidemiology, and assessing the impact of travel interventions. Self-reported diaries and questionnaires are traditionally used as measurement tools; advances in Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology allow for comparison. This review aimed to identify and report about studies comparing self-reported and GPS-measured journey durations. We systematically searched, appraised, and analysed published and unpublished articles from electronic databases, reference lists, bibliographies, and websites up to December 2012. Included studies used GPS and self-report to investigate trip duration. The average trip duration from each measure was compared and an aggregated, pooled estimate of the difference, weighted by number of trips, was calculated. We found 12 results from eight eligible studies. All studies showed self-reported journey times were greater than GPS-measured times. The difference between self-report and GPS times ranged from overreporting of +2.2 to +13.5 minutes per journey. The aggregated, pooled estimate of the difference, weighted by number of trips, was over-report of +4.4 minutes (+28.6%). Studies comparing self-reported and GPS-measured journey duration have shown self-reported to be consistently over-reported across the study sample. Our findings suggest that when using self-reported journey behaviour, the journey durations should be treated as an over-estimation.

Background: Cycling as a means of transport contributes to public health in terms of increasing the physical activity behaviour and reducing air pollution. In comparison to walking, cycling-specific environmental characteristics have been less investigated. The aim of this study was to develop, based on geographic information systems (GIS) data, a bikeability index for a mid-sized European city, to examine the predictive validity of the index and to visualize the bicycle-friendliness of the city by creating a bikeability map. Methods: Using GIS data, we assessed the environmental characteristics of 278 bicycle trips in the city of Graz, Austria. Characteristics which differed significantly between the actually taken and shortest possible routes were used to form an additive bikeability index and the bikeability map for 100 m × 100 m cells. The relationship between the cycling behaviour and the bikeability index around the home environment was examined to assess the predictive validity of the index. Results: Three environmental components (cycling infrastructure, bicycle pathways and green areas) were positively related, and two components (main roads, and topography) were negatively related to the actually used route. These components formed the bikeability index, which was positively correlated with cycling behaviour (OR: 1.08, 95% CI 1.01-1.17). The final outcome is a high-resolution coloured map indicating the degree of bicycle-friendliness in the city of Graz. Conclusion: Mapping based on the bikeability index helps to visualize the bicycle-friendliness of an urban area. Therefore, it should be a useful tool for the planning as well as for the evaluation of the transport environments in cities.

BackgroundDespite evidence that environmental features are related to physical activity, the association between the built environment and bicycling for transportation remains a poorly investigated subject. The aim of the study was to improve our understanding of the environmental determinants of bicycling as a means of transportation in urban European settings by comparing the spatial differences between the routes actually used by bicyclists and the shortest possible routes.MethodsIn the present study we examined differences in the currently used and the shortest possible bicycling routes, with respect to distance, type of street, and environmental characteristics, in the city of Graz, Austria. The objective measurement methods of a Global Positioning System (GPS) and a Geographic Information System (GIS) were used.ResultsBicycling routes actually used were significantly longer than the shortest possible routes. Furthermore, the following attributes were also significantly different between the used route compared to the shortest possible route: Bicyclists often used bicycle lanes and pathways, flat and green areas, and they rarely used main roads and crossings.ConclusionThe results of the study support our hypothesis that bicyclists prefer bicycle pathways and lanes instead of the shortest possible routes. This underlines the importance of a well-developed bicycling infrastructure in urban communities.