Tackling Obesity in England - National Audit Office

TACKLING OBESITY IN ENGLANDInitiatives addressing the population asa wholei. Promoting active transportThe Department of the Environment, Transport and theRegions works with the Department of Health and otheragencies4.6 Government can encourage people to take more physicalactivity by enabling them to build it into their dailyroutines, principally through active forms of transport suchas walking and cycling. The 'New Deal for Transport'White Paper, published in July 1998 32 , acknowledged theimpact of different modes of travel on the nation's health,and on the risk factors for coronary heart disease inparticular. It signalled the Government's intention to makeit easier for people to stay fitter through walking andcycling by providing a safer and more integrated networkof appropriate routes, footpaths and cycle lanes. There isclear congruence between the Department of theEnvironment, Transport and the Regions' objective tomake it easier to walk and cycle and thereby reducereliance on cars, and the Department of Health's objectiveto promote physical activity to reduce ill health.4.7 To support these shared policy objectives, there is regularformal and informal consultation between staff working inrelevant areas of each department, backed up by jointteams and working groups on specific issues, such asschool travel (paragraphs 4.41-4.45). The departmentshave also jointly sponsored research on integrating healthand transport policy at the local level, and commissionedjoint publications. In addition, both departments arerepresented on the Inter-Ministerial Group to ImproveChildren's Diet and Activity, set up in July 2000. Some ofthe key ways in which the two departments have workedtogether are illustrated in Figure 18.4.8 The Department of the Environment, Transport and theRegions has consulted with colleagues from theDepartment of Health on issues including the transportWhite Paper, national cycle forum, and the walking workinggroup. These links were maintained in developing the 'Areyou doing your bit?' campaign, a national, multi-mediainitiative to encourage the public to make differences totheir lifestyles that will help the environment. The re-launchof the campaign in 1999 sought to promote healthytransport choices by encouraging people to reconsider theiruse of the private car and adopt healthier modes of transportsuch as cycling and walking. These themes continue to bepart of the campaign in its 2000/01 phase.4.9 Work to promote this message was led by a physicalactivity expert seconded from the Health EducationAuthority to the Department of the Environment, Transportand the Regions specifically to develop stronger linksbetween transport and health policy. This secondmenthelped to ensure consistency with the central messages ofthe Health Education Authority's 'Active for Life'campaign, which ran concurrently and was the maininitiative to promote physical activity commissioned bythe Department of Health. This physical activity expert isnow providing consultancy advice to both departments onexploring ways to integrate health and transport and otherphysical activity policies.18 The links between health and transportHealth AuthoritiesPromoting healthytransport locallyLocal AuthoritiesDepartment of HealthTo improve healthand reduce healthinequalitiesEncourage and facilitatewalking and cyclingDepartment ofthe Environment,Transport & the RegionsTo make it easier to walkand cycle and therebyreduce reliance on carsHealth Health DevelopmentAgency AgencyTo To To provide provide evidenceand and guidance on on onwhat what works worksto to to improve health healthn Regular consultation on policy issuesn Joint teams on specific issuesn Sharing informationn Seconding staff to encourage collaborationn Joint publications and guidancen Inter-Ministerial GroupHighways AgencyTo improve accessto the road systemfor cyclists andpedestriansHealth DeveAgenTo provide eand guidawhat woto improvepart fourSource:National Audit Office33