Medical Health Officers Support Active Transportation

Yesterday I noticed two separate  Medical Health Officers (MHOs) endorse active transportation infrastructure spending as an effective means to increase population health and reduce rising health costs. I will plan to expand this posting with additional materials, please post any other items you think belong here in the comment box at the bottom of this page, Thanks!

1. The video below is from The Toronto Centre for Active Transportation and features Dr. David Mowat, MHO for the Region of Peel:



2. The letter below was posted by Dr. James Talbot, Cheif MHO for Alberta Health:



Here are some additional items submitted by friends:


3. An interview called Why I love Transit posted by Translink, Metro Vancouver's regional transit agency, featuring Patricia Daly, the Chief MHO from Vancouver Coastal Health. Here is a quote from the interview:

How are health and transportation connected? We know that if we design neighbourhoods that encourage people to walk, ride bicycles and use transit rather than use cars, that people will be more physically active. Daily physical activity is very important for maintaining good health and preventing disease. Also, because many chronic diseases, including respiratory and cardiac diseases, can be caused by or exacerbated by toxins in the air, choosing modes of transportation that are less polluting can also help improve the health of the population.

4. Another letter of support for Calgary bike infrastructure posted by Dr. Richard Musto, the lead MHO for Calgary area, originally posted on the BikeCalgary Website.