Bicycle Lane Construction As A Built-environment Lifestyle Intervention

Obesity has risen in the United States causing economic and morbidity burdens relating to cardiac disease, endocrine dysregulation, and even premature death. Studies have shown increasing physical activity (PA) levels correlate with end-mortality benefit. Bicycle ridership (BR), being a physically involved activity, could be studied as a form of PA. PURPOSE: To investigate the change in BR following structural changes to accommodate cycling in an urban community. METHODS: Article search in the PubMed database with the following terms: bicycle lane OR bicycle path OR bicycling AND built environment OR bike bane OR bike path OR biking AND built environment. Criteria to be included in the analysis required the study to evaluate pre- vs post-intervention in BR following the creation of space dedicated to bike use. Of 2867 that resulted, 2806 were excluded based on title and 57 were excluded based on inadequate data with 4 studies remaining for review. Odds ratios in BR were calculated to determine significance. RESULTS: The first study showed a change in persons using a bike per hour pre- vs post-intervention of an experimental population compared to a control population with an OR of 1.35 and a P-value of 0.338. The second study showed the percent change in riding a bike in the last week pre- vs post-intervention of an experimental population compared to a control population with an OR of 1.16 and a P value of 0.767. The third study showed percent change in bike use of two populations stratified near or far distance to the environment change pre- vs post-intervention: the far group having pre- vs post-intervention OR of 2.57 and a P-value of 0.01 and the near group with a pre- vs post-intervention OR of 1.16 and a P-value of 0.51. The last study showed a percent change in bicycle commuting in a population pre- vs post-intervention with an OR of 2.35 and a P-value of <0.01. CONCLUSIONS: These studies show BR could be influenced by structural change. The commuter populations may have increased affectability when considering bike lane additions.