CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 16years old!
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It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
Active travel has DECREASED as a mode of transport in Scotland since 2001.
Walking is down by 1.3% as a mode of transport to work since 2001.
0.3% increase in cycling to school; 0.1% in cycling to work since 2001
btwn 2001 - 2011 rate of people driving to work increased. walking decreased, and cycling went up by 0.1%
Between 2001-2011 mode of transport for students - foot down, car up, but bike up from 0.9 to 1.2% hmmmm
Hardly surprising that obesity rates have 'blossomed' also during the same period...
Yep, despite the over 4000 miles a year, my bmi is more than 30.
Not just BMI. Waist circumference too.
The average man's waist circumference grew from 93.7cm (37in) to 99cm (39in), while the average woman's had expanded from 82.7cm (32.5in) to 89.1cm (35in).
Professor Mike Lean, from the university's school of medicine, said: "Our results demonstrate striking increases in both BMI and waist circumference over a 10-year period and among people at almost every age. The changes are most marked among women who now have waists eight to 10 centimetres bigger than women of the same age 10 years ago, while men have waists five to seven centimetres bigger. The data suggest a disproportionate increase in body fat, compared with muscle, at all ages, but particularly among older women."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-19713671
Scotland is heading towards USA levels of obesity. Only ten years behind...
Cycling is not even included in the breakdown by council area, just lumped in under other. That's going to be helpful for those LAs actually attempting to implement the government's 'shared vision' of 10% of journeys by bike
It is in the breakdown here: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk
Anyway, I disovered that Edinburgh has (or hd two years ago) 12,526 people who cycle to work or study. Lothians overall figure was 14,838.
Even more exceptional when you consider that Scotland wide, only 44,193 people cycle to work or study. So Edinburgh has 28.3% of Scotland's cycle commuters with only 9% of Scotland's population.
Oh and from the same data, the perecentage of journeys to work/study by cycle in 2011:
Edinburgh 4.3%
East Lothian 1.78%
Mid Lothian 0.98%
West Lothian 0.77%
If East Lothian sounds okay, that is only 1022 cyclists! 806 in West Lothian, 484 in Midlothian.
Three quarters of adults (76%) who responded in 2001 described their health as "good" or "very good".
Just under two-thirds (64.3%) of adults, aged 16 and over, were classed as overweight or obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 and over.
A bit of a disconnect there!
Commenting on the latest survey, Health Minister Michael Matheson said that while many of the figures were "encouraging" more needed to be done.
Commenting from which planet exactly?
"Edinburgh 4.3%"
So are 'we' an irritating minority who should just be ignored or is this a wake-up call for SG/NHS to invest now to (perhaps) produce significant (financial) savings in the future (and perhaps social benefits - including a nicer city)??
"Just under two-thirds (64.3%) of adults, aged 16 and over, were classed as overweight or obese..."
'kinell
A bit of a disconnect there!
Not really, I am in good health but I am also overweight. Being fat doesn't necessarily mean you are ill. Baldcyclist is probably fitter and healthier than half the population but is borderline obese (by his own comment, I’m not judging :)).
We did BMI a while back, didn't we? Cue photo of Uberuce looking capable of picking me & my b/f up, one in each hand, and chucking us across the room...
BMI is useful when you are talking about populations, I believe?
"Even more exceptional when you consider that Scotland wide, only 44,193 people cycle to work or study. So Edinburgh has 28.3% of Scotland's cycle commuters with only 9% of Scotland's population."
Probably (though I'm no statistician) need to compare apples with apples and have urban commuters counted only for such a comparison. Indeed, 28.3% of cycle commuters for only 9% of population, but how many of that remaining 91% are as easily located to work in order to cycle?
We did BMI a while back, didn't we?
True, though I'm definitely overweight, I don’t need BMI to measure that my shirt size is too big and beer belly is too prominent
@WC, I can't answer that for you, but the census web site probably could, if you download a few tables, add in a few formulae, etc.
"
...but is borderline obese (by his own comment, I’m not judging :)).
"
No no, I'm just plain fat. No messing around the edges, fat. 34in waist in a 5ft 6in person, fat.
Professor Mike Lean
Highly relevant surname for talking about obesity.
Okay, maybe I can do that. Here are the official census stats for Scotland's four biggest cities in 2011:
Bike Rail Foot Car Bus
Edinburgh 4.34% 1.83% 28.59% 35.74% 28.04%
Aberdeen 1.87% 0.55% 28.24% 50.45% 15.52%
Glasgow 1.61% 10.28% 25.13% 40.94% 20.29%
Dundee 1.25% 0.79% 30.19% 50.14% 16.08%
No no, I'm just plain fat. No messing around the edges, fat. 34in waist in a 5ft 6in person, fat.
But well below the "average" male waist size!
Transport Scotland has also slipped out a few updated tables from the Scottish Transport Statistics publication, which you can find at:
Looking at these and the census figures, it seems that the numbers of people cycling have increased very slightly (mainly Edinburgh and Glasgow) and those who do cycle are cycling further.
So whichever way you look at it, regarding cyclng Edinburgh is a (modest) exception to the rule of low modal share in Scotland.
Most Scottish cities with high modal share for walking, though Glasgow could do better.
Edinburgh also unusual in having a relatively low modal share for cars/vans, and relatively high for buses. Glasgow notable for rail/underground commuting: hardly surprising given the extensive network.
Cheers crowriver, understood my waffle and answered it perfectly :)
"No no, I'm just plain fat. No messing around the edges, fat. 34in waist in a 5ft 6in person, fat.
But well below the "average" male waist size!"
Though (and this is no personal slight!), I suspect 5'6" is below average height, so wonder what the average waist size per height is...
To flip the comparison I'm hideously unfit, but share a 34" waist in a 6'3" frame. Looking fit by no means confrims to actually being fit.
@Morningsider, interesting.
Table 11.11 caught my eye. 42% of Scots who drive every day claim to have NEVER walk anywhere*, whether for 'transport' or 'pleasure/keep fit'
* - in the 7 days prior to the questionnaire.
"I'm hideously unfit"
That isn't really true - especially if we are talking 'average'.
Fig. 11.3 interesting too.
Motoring to work down just 1% in ten years, but passengers down from 11% to 6%; Drivers up from 57% to 61%. I presume that's an increase in single occupant vehicles then?
Bus down 2% to 10%; rail up 1% to 4%; walking up 1% to 14%; cycling up 1% (doubled) to 2%
Though (and this is no personal slight!), I suspect 5'6" is below average height, so wonder what the average waist size per height is...
Apparently* the average in 2011 was 5'8" for Scottish men, or 173cm. The mean height in 2008 was 175cm for Scottish men. So the 'average' Scottish male is 5'8"-ish with a 39" waist...!
I'm hideously unfit
Maybe compared to Wiggo or Chris Hoy. Compared to the average Scot?
* - warning, mildly Jock bashing Daily Mail article.
I'm hideously unfit
when you are using a yardstick of the guys who are going to be challenging for the podium at Dig In At the Dock, of course! When compared to 90% of the Scottish population I'm sure you're much more fit.
Though (and this is no personal slight!), I suspect 5'6" is below average height, so wonder what the average waist size per height is...
I'm about 4st over what the charts say I should be, and just under 2st over what is 'skinny' for me. My ideal weight is about 12st, I remember being weighed at that at an asthma clinic and the nurse looked openly confused as she looked at me, then looked at the chart, then looked at me, then looked back at the chart before concluding "nah, you're fine".
I went from 12st, and at my heaviest I reached 15 1/2 st mostly as a result of getting married (I married late) and eating actual food for the first time in adulthood. I actually got stretch marks as I put the weight on so quickly!
I used to basically just live off of pasta before that, no breakfast, no lunch, just pasta for evening meal, that was the last time I was 12st. Of course my wife wont let me do that now despite my hatred for breakfast, I have to force that in in the morning, I boak every morning eating breakfast still, but I need the calories for the cycle to work, so what do you do? Hate breakfast, sick if you don't have it.
I'm hideously unfit
Probably subjective, my body has grown used to the demands I place on it . Over 100 miles every week now, have been at that for more or less the last 7 months. It recovers incredibly quickly now, I've done 95miles this week so far, and I'll be good to go again tomorrow. I can't do it fast, I average about 11.5 / 12 mph in the winter, and 12 /14 mph in the summer, that frustrates me, somehow I still imagine I'm 20 and can cycle as fast as I want, and not some 40 something fat person with chronic lung disease. I probably actually do all right considering, still, frustrating.
But, back to that subjective thing, ride 30 miles a day, day in day out for months on end. No problem. Run up a single flight of stairs? Crumpled mess at the top. I couldn't run for a bus....
Hmm, I seem to have gone on a bit, how'd that happen? I am largely sane, I think, despite some of my mutterings. ;0
"cycling up 1% (doubled) to 2%"
And small enough sample to be suspect(?)
Looks like 'most' of the increase will have been in Edinburgh.
Does it matter?
If it does perhaps SG should be doing more -
differently.
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