ABSTRACT
Physical inactivity is now identified as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality, representing six per cent of deaths globally (WHO 2010). Levels of physical inactivity are rising in many countries (Hallal et al. 2012) and this has major implications for the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (such as obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic degenerative diseases) as well as the general health of the global population. Physical inactivity is estimated to cause around 21–25 per cent of breast and colon cancer burden, 27 per cent of diabetes and about 30 per cent of ischaemic heart disease burden (WHO 2009). International groups, including the World Health Organization, have thus recommended policy changes to combat physical inactivity (WHO 2010; Lee et al. 2012). In addition, there is a growing recognition that reduced levels of physical activity can partly be explained by the dominance of the private car as a mode of transport in urban society, as well as the role it plays in inhibiting both walking and cycling (Lumsdon and Mitchell 1999).
