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The Miracle Pill

Page 30

by Peter Walker

9 Finn Vejlø Rasmussen, Jess Lambrechtsen, Hans Christian Siersted, Henrik Steen Hansen, Neil C. Hansen, ‘Low physical fitness in childhood is associated with the development of asthma in young adulthood: the Odense schoolchild study’, European Respiratory Journal, Vol. 16, No. 5 (2000): 866–70.

  10 John R. Mosley, ‘Osteoporosis and bone functional adaptation: mechanobiological regulation of bone architecture in growing and adult bone, a review’, Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, Vol. 37, No. 2 (2000): 189–99.

  11 Regina Guthold, Gretchen A. Stevens, Leanne M. Riley, Fiona C. Bull, ‘Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents: a pooled analysis of 298 population-based surveys with 1.6 million participants’, The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, Vol. 4, No. 1 (2020): 23–35.

  12 Health Education Authority, Physical Activity at Our Time (London: Health Education Authority, 2000).

  13 Jay Coakley, Anita White, ‘Making decisions: gender and sport participation among British adolescents’, Sociology of Sport Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1 (1992): 20–35.

  14 Guthold et al., ‘Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents’.

  15 Department for Education national curriculums for primary and secondary schools.

  16 Ofsted, ‘Obesity, healthy eating and physical activity in primary schools’, July 2018 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/726114/Obesity__healthy_eating_and_physical_activity_in_primary_schools_170718.pdf

  17 Scottish government, ‘Health and wellbeing in schools’ https://www.gov.scot/policies/schools/wellbeing-in-schools/

  18 Neville Owen et al., ‘Sedentary Behavior and Public Health: Integrating the Evidence and Identifying Potential Solutions’, Annual Review of Public Health, Vol. 41 (2020): 265–87.

  19 Diabetes UK, ‘Nearly 7,000 children and young adults with Type 2 diabetes’.

  20 Department for Transport, ‘National Travel Survey 2014: Travel to School’ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476635/travel-to-school.pdf

  21 Hidde P. van der Ploeg, Dafna Merom, Grace Corpuz, Adrian E. Bauman, ‘Trends in Australian children traveling to school 1971–2003: Burning petrol or carbohydrates?’, Preventive Medicine, Vol. 46, No. 1 (2008): 60–2.

  22 Unicef, ‘Child and adolescent injuries’ https://www.unicef.org/health/injuries

  23 Department for Transport, ‘National Travel Survey 2014: Travel to School’.

  24 Mathew Thomson, Lost Freedom: The Landscape of the Child and the British Post-War Settlement (Oxford: OUP, 2013), p. 141.

  25 Department for Transport, ‘Facts on child casualties: June 2015’ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/442236/child-casualties-2013-data.pdf

  26 Department for Transport, ‘Reported road casualties in Great Britain: 2018’.

  27 Mayer Hillman, John Adams, John Whitelegg, One False Move: A Study of Children’s Independent Mobility (London: Policy Studies Institute, 1990).

  28 Leslie M. Alexander et al., ‘The broader impact of walking to school among adolescents: seven day accelerometry based study’, British Medical Journal, Vol. 331, No. 7524 (2005): 1061–2.

  29 Interview with the author.

  30 Tim Gill, No Fear: Growing Up In A Risk-Averse Society (London: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 2007).

  31 NHS Health Survey for England 2016: Physical Activity in Adults.

  32 NHS: Exercise as you get older https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercise-as-you-get-older/

  33 Office for National Statistics, Life Expectancies https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/lifeexpectancies

  34 Office for National Statistics, Estimates of the very old, including centenarians, UK: 2002 to 2018 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/ageing/bulletins/estimatesoftheveryoldincludingcentenarians/2002to2018#population-growth-of-those-aged-90-years-and-over-continues-to-decrease

  35 Office for National Statistics, Health state life expectancies, UK: 2015 to 2017.

  36 Neil McCartney, Stuart M. Phillips, ‘Physical Activity, Muscular Fitness and Health’, in Physical Activity and Health, eds Claude Bouchard, Steven N. Blair, William L. Haskell (Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics, 2012), p. 264.

  37 This is the same for Public Health England, World Health Organization etc.

  38 Patrick N. Siparsky, Donald T. Kirkendall, William E. Garrett Jr, ‘Muscle Changes in Aging: Understanding Sarcopenia’, Sports Health, Vol. 6, No. 1 (2014): 36–40.

  39 NHS: Arthritis https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/arthritis/

  40 US Department of Health and Human Services, ‘Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, Second Edition’, 2018 https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf

  41 NHS: Exercise https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/

  42 Mie Tymn, ‘John Keston: Age Group Ace’, Runner’s World, 1 July 2002.

  43 Associated Press, ‘92-year-old Minnesota man keeps up passion for running’, WEAU News, 22 July 2017.

  44 Interview with the author.

  45 Lynn F. Cherkas et al., ‘The Association Between Physical Activity in Leisure Time and Leukocyte Telomere Length’, JAMA Internal Medicine, Vol. 168, No. 2 (2008): 154–8.

  46 Xuemei Sui, James N. Laditka, James W. Hardin, Steven N. Blair, ‘Estimated functional capacity predicts mortality in older adults’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Vol. 55, No. 12 (2007): 1940–47.

  47 Eliza F. Chakravarty et al., ‘Reduced Disability and Mortality Among Aging Runners: A 21-Year Longitudinal Study’, JAMA Internal Medicine, Vol. 168, No. 15 (2008): 1638–46.

  48 Andrew Kingston et al., ‘Projections of multi-morbidity in the older population in England to 2035: estimates from the Population Ageing and Care Simulation (PACSim) model’, Age and Ageing, Vol. 47, No. 3 (2018): 374–80.

  49 International Osteoporosis Foundation https://www.iofbonehealth.org/facts-statistics#category-14

  50 Interview with the author.

  51 Stefania Bandinelli, Yuri Milaneschi, Luigi Ferrucci, ‘Chair Stands Test and Survival in the Older Population’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Vol. 57, No. 11 (2009): 2172–3.

  52 Rachel Cooper et al., ‘Physical capability in mid-life and survival over 13 years of follow-up: British birth cohort study’, British Medical Journal, Vol. 348, g2219 (2014).

  53 Interview with the author.

  54 Official video of how to do the test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCQ2WA2T2oA

  55 Leonardo Barbosa Barreto de Brito et al., ‘Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality’, European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, Vol. 21, No. 7 (2014): 892–8.

  56 World Health Organization, Dementia Factsheet https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia

  57 Alzheimer’s Society, ‘How many people have dementia and what is the cost of dementia care?’, November 2019 https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-us/policy-and-influencing/dementia-scale-impact-numbers

  58 Interview with the author.

  59 Kirk I. Erickson et al., ‘Aerobic Fitness is Associated with Hippocampal Volume in Elderly Humans’, Hippocampus, Vol. 19, No. 10 (2009): 1030–9.

  60 Nicola T. Lautenschlager et al., ‘Effect of Physical Activity on Cognitive Function in Older Adults at Risk for Alzheimer Disease: A Randomized Trial’, Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 300, No. 9 (2008): 1027–37.

  Chapter 9

  1 Joensuu Municipality statistics.

  2 Interview with the author.

  3 Interview with the author.

  4 European Commission, Eurobarometer: Sport and Physical Activity, December 2017 https://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/survey/getsurveydetail/instruments/special/surveyky/2164

  5 Interview with the author.

/>   6 Statistics from Pukka Peska et al., ‘The North Karelia Project: From North Karelia to National Action’, National Institute for Health and Welfare, 2009.

  7 Peska et al., ‘The North Karelia Project’.

  8 Ilkka Vuori, Becky Lankenau, Michael Pratt, ‘Physical Activity Policy and Program Development: The Experience in Finland’, Public Health Reports, Vol. 119, No. 3 (2004): 331–45.

  9 Statistics from Joonas Niemi.

  10 Interview with the author.

  11 Interview with the author.

  12 Interview with the author.

  13 Health Survey for England 2015: Physical activity in children.

  14 Interview with the author.

  15 Department for Education’s settlement at the Spending Review 2015. For 2019/20, £61.6 billion.

  16 Interview with the author.

  17 Aubert et al., ‘Global Matrix 3.0 Physical Activity Report Card Grades for Children and Youth: Results and Analysis From 49 Countries’.

  18 World Health Organization, Slovenia: Physical Activity Fact Sheet https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/288124/SLOVENIA-Physical-Activity-Factsheet.pdf

  19 Aubert et al., ‘Global Matrix 3.0 Physical Activity Report Card Grades for Children and Youth: Results and Analysis From 49 Countries’.

  20 Interview with the author.

  21 Interview with the author.

  22 Interview with the author.

  Chapter 10

  1 Dr Sabine L. van Elsland, Ryan O’Hare, ‘COVID-19: Imperial researchers model likely impact of public health measures’, Imperial College News, 17 March 2020.

  2 Damian Carrington, ‘Indoor and outdoor air pollution “claiming at least 40,000 UK lives a year” ’, The Guardian, 22 February 2016.

  3 Fiona Harvey, ‘Air pollution: UK government loses third court case as plans ruled “unlawful” ’, The Guardian, 21 February 2018.

  4 Interview with the author.

  5 Interview with the author.

  6 Interview with the author.

  7 David C. Nieman, ‘Coronavirus disease-2019: A tocsin to our aging, unfit, corpulent, and immunodeficient society’, Journal of Sport and Health Science, Vol. 9, No. 4 (2020): 293–301.

  8 Peter Walker, Matthew Taylor, ‘Labour to plan green economic rescue from coronavirus crisis’, The Guardian, 17 May 2020. Interview took place on 15 May.

  9 Briefing to political journalists in the daily ‘lobby’ conference (held via telephone conference call amid coronavirus).

  10 Matthew Taylor, ‘Large areas of London to be made car-free as lockdown eased’, The Guardian, 15 May 2020.

  11 Interview with the author.

  12 Interview with the author.

  13 Interview with the author.

  14 Interview with the author.

  15 Interview with the author.

  16 Interview with the author.

  INDEX

  A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.

  actin (protein) 40

  active applause 176–7, 180, 271

  Active Ten app (Public Health England) 57, 269

  adenosine triphosphate (ATP) 40, 41, 276

  Aldred, Rachel 119–20, 139

  Alzheimer’s disease 5, 49, 186, 226, 232, 233, 234

  Agricultural Revolution/Agrarian Revolution 15–16

  Amager Bakke/Copenhill waste-burning energy plant, Denmark 134–5

  Amish people 17–18, 208 anaerobic respiration 40

  Annual Travel Survey 3

  anxiety 5, 50, 57, 112

  Araujo, Claudio Gil 229–32

  Aspern, Vienna 140

  asthma 10–11, 160, 172, 209

  Atlas, Charles (Angelo Siciliano) 31

  Barnet Graph of Doom 100–1

  basal metabolic rate (BMR) 51, 158, 191

  Better (non-profit social enterprise) 224

  BeUpstanding 195–6

  bike couriers 11–13

  Biobank public health project 114

  biophilia 133

  Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) 132–5, 138–9

  Blackburn, Elizabeth 41–2

  Blair, Steven 19–20, 21, 46, 169–72, 275–6

  blood pressure 5, 41, 46, 48, 57, 75, 90, 160, 225, 227, 265

  Boardman, Chris 124–5, 127, 137, 264

  BodPod 172–3, 174

  body mass index (BMI) 146–7, 150–2, 161–4, 167, 170, 171, 172, 173, 193, 243

  bone density/health 16–17, 22, 23, 44, 46, 49, 67, 101, 209, 223, 227–8

  Boyd, Andrew 105–6

  breast cancer 48, 160

  British Medical Journal (BMJ) 64, 65, 80

  Buchan, William: Domestic Medicine 63

  Buchanan, Colin: Traffic in Towns 120–1

  Buchanan, Nigel 203–4, 206, 207–8

  Buchner, David 228

  Bull, Fiona 98–9

  Burden of Disease, WHO 47, 90

  Burfoot, Amby 78, 79

  Burnham, Andy 124, 264, 266

  bus drivers, heart attack rates in London 61–2, 71–3

  Bushy Park Time Trial 250

  calories 13, 19–20, 19n, 27, 51, 54, 75, 113, 114, 146, 148, 153, 155, 156–7, 158, 165–6, 169, 190

  Cambridge University 64, 65–6, 187

  cancer 5, 41, 48–9, 62, 79, 90, 114, 160, 186, 187, 227, 231–2

  car children and 216, 219, 258, 263–4, 265, 272

  electric 137, 268

  lobby 263

  social engineering and 254, 258

  town/city planning and 110, 111, 113, 121, 120–2, 124, 125, 126, 127–8, 129, 130, 131, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140, 141, 142, 191–2, 263, 265, 268

  walking supplanted by 2, 3, 5, 53

  cardiovascular activity 168–9, 209, 271–2

  cardiovascular health bus drivers, heart attack rates in London 61–2, 71–3

  children and 2, 213

  coronavirus and 265

  diabetes and 95

  Harvard Alumni Health Study 75–7, 134

  heart attacks 41, 48, 50, 62, 70, 71, 74, 75, 76, 77, 91, 92, 93, 106

  heart disease 5, 43, 46, 48, 59, 68, 69, 70–4, 81, 82, 88, 89, 114, 152, 154, 243, 244

  inactivity first linked to 47–8

  life expectancy and 93

  longshoremen health study, San Francisco 75

  low-density lipoprotein (LDL)/triglycerides and 41, 43, 46, 185

  mitochondria and 40, 41

  rheumatic heart disease 68, 69–70, 82, 152

  sitting and 5, 185, 186, 187, 199

  Centers for Disease Control (US government) 95, 228

  chair 178–9

  Chan, Margaret 152–3

  children 22–3, 203–20, 235 adult health, movement in childhood and 11, 209–10

  BMI and 51

  bone density and 16, 23, 49, 67, 209–10

  childhood movement diminishing into adolescence and onwards 11, 210–11

  cycling and 121, 130, 214, 237–8, 246, 247

  Daily Mile and 203–7, 212–13

  decline in activity/inactivity statistics 1–2, 10–11, 22–3, 24, 203–11, 252–3, 254, 256

  girls, low activity levels in 141–3, 204, 209, 210–11, 256

  independent childhood mobility, perceived cosseting of children and 216–20

  life expectancy and 97

  obesity and 84, 152, 153, 252–3, 256–7

  schools and see schools

  social care and 100

  social engineering and 244, 245, 246, 247–9, 252–3

  town/city planning and 121, 122–3, 130, 138, 139–40, 142, 216–20

  cholesterol 43, 185, 242–3

  cigarettes 10, 29, 47, 62, 75, 76, 79, 92, 98, 105, 176, 177, 242–4

  cognitive function 5, 46, 49, 57, 87, 186
, 226, 232, 233, 234

  Coldbath Fields Prison, London 63–4

  colon cancer 48

  co-morbidity 89, 91

  commuting 58, 111, 114–18, 125, 127–9, 148, 183, 184, 199–200, 221, 270, 273, 274

  Cooper, Ashley 129

  Cooper, Ken: Aerobics 78, 79

  Copenhagen, Denmark 109–12, 122–3, 125, 134, 135, 184, 240

  Coronary Heart Disease and Physical Activity of Work 61–2, 71–3

  coronavirus pandemic 8–10, 13, 33, 88, 90, 100, 115, 116, 130, 138, 154, 172, 173, 182, 183, 192, 198, 201–2, 214, 240, 247, 248, 257, 259–61, 263, 264–9

  Cregan-Reid, Vybarr: Primate Change 178–9, 189

  Criado-Perez, Caroline: Invisible Women 141

  cycling body fat and 173

  calories and 113

  car travel supplants 2, 3, 127, 217–18

  children/schools and 121, 130, 214, 217, 237–8, 246, 247

  commuting/everyday cycling for transport 7, 9, 13, 27–8, 34, 58, 104–5, 113, 114, 115–20, 129, 137, 177, 182, 183, 184, 199, 213, 254, 261, 265, 270, 272–3

  couriers 11–13

  Denmark and 7, 111, 121, 128, 130, 135, 239, 240, 249, 268

  electric-assist bicycle/e-bike 128–30, 135

  Finland and 236–8, 246, 247

  heart attacks and 74

  lanes/routes 9, 28, 82, 111, 119, 120–1, 122, 124, 130, 133, 192, 237, 246, 253–4, 265, 267–8

  leg strength and 224, 231, 276

  METs and 51, 52, 58, 115, 129

  mortality and 114–20, 121

  Netherlands and 119, 121, 125, 127, 128, 239, 240, 249, 268

  Olympics and 34

  overweight people and 166

  Peloton 31

  postmen and 73

  safety/road danger 28, 118–19, 121, 125–6, 128, 137, 216–18, 240, 260

  Slovenia and 253–4

  social engineering and 236–8, 239–40, 246, 247, 249, 253–4, 256

  share schemes 106

  short car trips and 136, 137, 143

  town/city planning and 33, 111, 112, 113, 114–20, 121, 122, 124–6, 127–31, 136, 137, 141, 143, 191, 192, 236–9, 246–7, 249, 253–4, 256, 263–4, 267–8

  cytokines 42, 161, 162

  Dahl, Roald 217–18

 

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