These findings, from a study led by Takemi Sugiyama of the Australian Catholic University's Institute for Health and Ageing, show the convenience of car travel has a significant impact on public health.
And men are more likely than women to put on weight due to time spent behind the wheel, his paper, Prof Sugiyama’s paper, published in the Preventive Medicine journal, revealed.
The study assessed the driving habits of 2,800 adults from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study against health measures, including body mass index, waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, and a range of cardio-metabolic risk factors.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 78 per cent of people use a car as the main form of transport to work.
And, significantly: “Relative to participants who spent 15 minutes per day or less in cars, those who spent more than one hour per day (about a quarter of the sample) were likely to have a 0.8 greater BMI (equivalent to 2.3kg for a person with a height of 1.7m), and 1.5cm greater waist circumference,” the study said.
Professor Sugiyama, an expert on the nexus between health and urban design, concluded that “prolonged time spent sitting in cars, in particular over hour per day, was associated with higher total and central adiposity and a more-adverse cardio-metabolic risk profile”.
“Transport sectors have been trying to promote active travel mainly to reduce congestion, air pollution, and the proliferation of automobile related infrastructure. Such efforts can be further supported by producing a compelling body of evidence on the adverse health impact of prolonged time spent in cars,” he said.
With urban sprawl and car dependency being common issues in Australia cities, Prof. Sugiyama said his most recent study could provide a more “comprehensive evidence base to underpin advocacy of active transport options”.
“Collaborative research between the health, transport and planning sectors has considerable potential to promote active travel further and to broaden the base for cardio-metabolic disease prevention initiatives,” he said.