Cycling groups make last minute submissions to National Obesity Task Force.

national | environment | news report Wednesday July 07, 2004 14:54 by Shane Foran - Irish Cycling Campaign - Feachtas Rothaiochta na hEireann galwaycyclist at yahoo dot co dot uk Dublin CC: http://www.connect.ie/dcc, Galway CC: http://www.eirbyte.com/gcc, Cork CC:http://indigo.ie/~woz/ccc 087 9935993

Cork, Galway and Dublin Cycling Campaigns make submissions. The groups highlight the proven health benefits of regular cycling, and outline measures required to restore cyclist access to Irish towns. The Department of Health is asked to take a robust line on misleading claims emanating from the Irish car lobby.

The last week has seen Irish Cycling Organisations involved in rushed, last minute efforts to make submissions to the National Task Force on Obesity, which had only defined a three-week window for public submissions. Despite the short notice, the Cork, Galway and Dublin Cycling Campaigns managed to make submissions. The groups highlight the proven health benefits of regular cycling – an actuarial cost benefit analysis of regular cycling has estimated that the lives saved/years gained through regular cycling may outweigh any lives/years lost by up to 20:1. The point is made that it is lack of exercise, rather than diet, that is the major cause of obesity. The submissions include a hierarchy of measures for creating a “cyclist-friendly” roads infrastructure including traffic reduction, traffic calming, junction treatments and road space reallocation. The cyclists argue that creating a cyclist-friendly infrastructure requires influencing the current “car-friendly” activities of the Departments of Transport and Environment.

Galway Obesity Submission (40.5k)
http://www.eirbyte.com/gcc/GCC_obesity_sub.doc

Dublin Obesity Submission (182k)
http://www.eirbyte.com/gcc/DCC_obesity_sub.doc

The three-week window did not provide enough time for an agreed national position paper on general cycling issues. However, as an interim step, the Irish Cycle Campaign has called on Department/Minister for Health to take a robust line against misleading claims about cycle-helmets. They argue that this is no different to taking robust positions regarding to false and untenable claims on behalf of other products. Recently cycling groups in both Ireland and the UK have been outraged by outlandish public claims about cycle helmets being made by interests associated with the car lobby. The cyclists have pointed out that cycling is not an especially "risky" activity, motorists and their passengers are more likely to suffer serious head injuries than cyclists. However there is widespread evidence that cycle-helmet promotion discourages significant numbers of people from cycling by giving the false impression that cycling is somehow less safe that other forms of transport. In particular, say the cyclists, the unfortunate promotion of cycle-helmets has the potential to seriously undermine efforts to promote physical activity, particularly among women and girls. According to recent census data, more teenage girls now drive theselves to school in cars than use bicycles.

ICC Submission: (25k)
http://www.eirbyte.com/gcc/ICC_obesity_sub.doc

ICC Regional contacts

David Maher (086) 347 5357 (Dublin)
Shane Foran 087 9935993 (Galway)
Darren McAdam-O’Connell 021 4899970 (Cork)