Come on, Come on, Do the Loco-Motion

Abstract

This themed issue of Preventive Medicine comprises articles following our call for papers on Self-Transportation, Public Transportation, and Health. Prevention-wise, the logic is that using self- or public transportation is likely to increase physical activity and counter the overall trend toward obesity that most populations of the world are now experiencing. The problem is that in countries for which data are available, both the cycling fraction of road traffic and the number of miles walked are declining (Dora, 1999; Haines et al., 2000). The harvest of papers has been rewarding. They show how far we currently are in the process of assembling evidence in support of the self/public transportation and health connection, but they also reflect the deficits in the experimental evidence needed to demonstrate that improving access to public transportation and modifying the built environment to stimulate walking and biking are going to make a meaningful difference in terms of public health.