Physical activity: encouraging activity in the general population

Cars should not be given priority when roads are built or upgraded, according to this guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The UK’s health watchdog says pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users should be the prime consideration for planners, in draft guidelines designed to increase the amount of physical activity in people’s day-to-day lives.

The guidelines say planners should also aim to provide pavements with bumps and grooves as well as anti-glare surfaces, to help those with visual impairments.

NICE estimates that obesity affects one in four adults and one in five children aged 10 to 11 years – and that physical inactivity is responsible for one in six deaths and believed to cost the UK £7.4bn each year, including £900m to the NHS.

A public consultation on the draft guidelines will run until 1 February 2019.