Mortality Credit Estimate

Every km cycled by every person represents a societal credit of



dollars per km.

Effect of Physical Activity on Mortality

“Minimal adherence to current physical activity guidelines, which yield an energy expenditure of about 1000 kcal x wk(-1) (4200 kJ x wk(-1)), is associated with a significant 20-30% reduction in risk of all-cause mortality.”

Power Up!

An average bicycle trip produces an output of watts!

Estimate Method

Effort calculations are based on a person riding a bicycle at a sustained average speed of . It includes estimations of rolling and wind resistance.

The top 2-5% annual cost of a high resource health care user is estimated at . For the purpose of this estimate, this figure will be used as the value of a statistical life, and broken down into a weekly cost to assess the mortality credit.

Further Reading

Lee IM, Skerrett PJ. Physical activity and all-cause mortality: what is the dose-response relation?. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001 Jun;33(6 Suppl):S459-71; discussion S493-4. doi: 10.1097/00005768-200106001-00016. Review. PubMed PMID: 11427772.
(May 14, 2020).

Statistics Canada. Table 1, Mean height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and prevalence of obesity, by collection method and sex, household population aged 18 to 79, Canada, 2008, 2007 to 2009, and 2005 Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-003-X. Ottawa. Version updated 2015-07-17. Ottawa.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2011003/article/11533/tbl/tbl1-eng.htm
(May 14, 2020).

Wikipedia contributors, “Utility bicycle,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Utility_bicycle&oldid=955621784 (accessed May 15, 2020).

Region of Peel – Public Health. The Changing Landscape of Health in Peel. A Comprehensive Health
Status Report. 2019
https://www.peelregion.ca/health/resources/pdf/CHSR-changing-landscape-health-peel-full-report.pdf
(May 14, 2020)