Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

What is already known on this subject? Interventions directed at obesity determinants can improve the health status of Canadians and reduce direct costs to our healthcare system. Regular physical activity is effective in the primary and secondary prevention of several chronic diseases, including obesity. Purposeful walking, cycling and transit use contribute to total physical activity and constitute a unique "domain" beyond leisure time physical activity. While the public health community is broadly supportive of policies to increase active travel, the limited evidence linking active travel to obesity reduction is in need of additional support. It is also unknown whether the health benefits of active travel are shared equally across socioeconomic groups. What does this study add? Body mass index (BMI) was significantly associated with mode of travel, household income and neighbourhood-level deprivation. Household income had a modifying effect on the relationship between travel mode and BMI; lower BMI was observed for active only compared to vehicular only travelers in the three highest income categories. Active or multi-modal travel was not associated with BMI for low income people. The results of this cross-sectional study advance the hypothesis that social position may limit the opportunity to benefit from physical activity achieved from active travel. Active travel may be insufficient to overcome the additional barriers to healthy weight maintenance imposed by disadvantage among low income people. Consideration should be given to how interventions to increase active travel might exacerbate social inequalities in body mass index.