P01 Looking for "frequent walkers" among the resident population of Switzerland. Issue 2 (June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Christie, Derek; Ravalet, Emmanuel; Kaufmann, Vincent
• Is Part Of: Journal of transport & health. Volume 2:Issue 2(2015:Jun.)Supplement
• Page Start: S64
• Publication Date: 2015-06
• Subjects: Transportation -- Health aspects -- Periodicals; Transportation -- Periodicals; Public Health -- Periodicals; Noise, Transportation -- Periodicals; Air Pollutants -- Periodicals; 388
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jth.2015.04.460
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2214-1405

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Walking is the focus of increasing interest for reasons linked to public health, the environment, climate change and transport policy. However, the phenomenon of people who spontaneously walk great distances has not been investigated. Our group defines "frequent walkers" as people who walk at least 5 km in public space on an average day, an activity which takes at least one hour at a fast pace (5 km/h). We hypothesise that integrating this walking into daily schedules is difficult for most people, which is why it is rare. We therefore studied what external and internal factors distinguish frequent walkers from other people. Methods: We used quantitative data from the Swiss 2010 transport micro-census (MRMT2010), which includes 62, 868 individuals aged 6+, interviewed by telephone throughout 2010, in a representative stratified sample covering the whole of Switzerland (66% response rate). Each respondent was asked about his or her transport activity on a randomly selected reference day. All bouts of ≥25metres were included, as long as they were not carried out within a building or facility. Demographic and socio-economic variables were investigated. Results: On the survey reference day, 11.5% of participants stayed at home; and 26.6% and 22.3% walked 0–2 km or 2–5 km, respectively. The proportion of frequent walkers (walking 5–20 km on the reference day) was 12.8%. Two other groups were identified: non-walking cyclists (4.0% of the sample) and people who drove a car or motorbike without any walking on the reference day, (22.5%: non-walking drivers). The average age of frequent walkers was 43.4years (SD 20.3), similar to the other groups, except non-walking cyclists who were younger (36.9 years, SD 20.0) and people who stayed at home who were older (50.9, SD 24.1). 53% of the frequent walkers were women, as were people who stayed at home, whereas non-walking cyclists and non-walking drivers were more often men. 51% of frequent walkers were married, less than for people who stayed at home (55%) or for non-walking drivers (60%). Frequent walkers were slightly more educated than the other groups. All results were significant at p<0.05 (chi-squared test). Conclusions: People who out-perform policy standards are neglected in scientific research. Our results show that, in Switzerland, frequent walkers are not demographically different from other groups. Our conclusion is therefore in the shape of a research agenda, which involves reaching out to frequent walkers in order to understand who they are and why they walk so much.