The NHS spends £10 billion a year tackling diabetes and its consequences, but this could be reduced if people rode bikes or walked to work, MPs said yesterday.
A group of MPS from all parties met for a debate on cycle safety in the House of Lords after the annual parliamentary bike ride from Kensington to Westminster, reports Kaya Burgess in The Times.
“At a time when we have millions of pre-diabetic adults, if cycling was a pill, every GP across the country would be prescribing it,” said Mary Creagh, the shadow transport secretary.
“In terms of added value, in terms of concentration for kids in lessons, in terms of massive health benefits - get more people walking and cycling and we’ll have gone some way to reducing that £10 billion a year burden on the NHS from diabetes.”
Dame Sally Davies, the government’s chief medical officer, said last year: “Cycling for all or part of your 150 minutes of physical activity each week can help to prevent or manage over 20 long-term conditions, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and mental health problems.”
According to Ms Creagh, Labour’s policy review is examining ways to encourage more people to ride. However, Liberal Democrat MP and chair of the All-Party Commons Cycling Group, Julian Huppert said: “One thing I didn’t hear [from Ms Creagh] was a commitment to actually spend any money.”
Research published last August indicated that cycling, walking and even using public transport were associated with lower risk of being overweight and therefore reduced chance of developing type II diabetes.
Cyclists were around half as likely to have diabetes as drivers.
According to Diabetes UK, around three million people in the UK have diabetes - about one in 20. Type 2, or later onset diabetes is connected with obesity and inactivity - and rates have soared over the last 10 years.
Improved public health is often cited as one of the best reasons for making cycling a more attractive way to travel. British Cycling in February claimed that if 10 per cent of trips were made by bike – well below the levels seen in countries like the Netherlands and Denmark, but a fivefold increase on the current situation here – the NHS in England and Wales could save £250 million a year.
Oh great! Really looking forward to getting back on the bicycle tomorrow with this crap in the headlines as justification for every deliberate act...
I'm amazed to learn that now those ex-military members in the UK can ignore the laws of their own country. I thought that was limited to Boris and...
In Liverpool were you?
I miss my 8Freight cargobike....
I still have a tiny 8 and 10mm Wrench Force spanner with bottle opener on the 8 that was meant to be worn as a pendant.
SRAM AXS is not Wi-Fi, it's AIREA, their own 2.4GHz protocol. Probably very similar to zigbee I think but with some added encryption.
"We'll give you more info on road.cc when we get it." You mean..."we'll give you more info on Friday once the NDA has cleared."
Please don't mock those of us who enjoy 'weird YouTube channels'....
One survey found that 98% of drivers thought they were above average - but that was in the States
It is a long thread. I hadn't seen your comment. It's a good suggestion and there are algorithms now that can detect aberrant driving technique ...