The Scottish Government should invest 10% of its transport budget on cycling and walking initiatives, according to a coalition of health, transport and leisure groups.
The 70 organisations are calling on all UK governments and local authorities to help fight obesity by "taking action on active travel". The groups launched a campaign yesterday for more cycle routes, better enforced traffic laws and 20mph speed limits to be enforced in residential areas.
The coalition - which includes such diverse groups as Sustrans, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal Institute of British Architects - believe investment could help the nation move away from sedentary travel and toward better public health.
Philip Insall, director of active travel at Sustrans, said: "The best European cities already see half of journeys made by bicycle or on foot.
We really must start investing properly in the ways of travelling that promote good health and do not pollute, and 10% of all transport spending should be just a start.
"That would be a truly sophisticated approach to transport investment and it would tackle the ruinous growth in obesity we face."
Dr Tim Crayford, president of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said: "If we really want to see levels of obesity declining in the UK, we have to move on from the rhetoric. Every transport and land-use decision should be checked to ensure it meets public-health criteria."
The groups said spending on cycling amounted to less than 0.5% of the overall transport budget in England and Wales in 2006-07.
In Scotland, the government's capital expenditure on cycle projects is only 1% of its £1.7bn transport budget, according to Spokes - the Lothian Cycle Campaign. Spokes is joined in the coalition by organisations including Transform Scotland, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, Cycling Scotland, Living Streets Scotland and Ramblers Scotland.
Their campaign was welcomed yesterday by cyclists in Glasgow's Pollok Country Park, including Bruce Thomas, 36, who was out with his children Rowan, three, and Callum, two. "The government could certainly do a lot more to promote cycling within the city," he said. "Proper cycle lanes would be a start. I think the 10% figure is probably about right, especially when you consider the situation we face with the fuel strikes."
Mohammad Shahid, 40, from Newlands, said the roads were too dangerous for him to let his 10-year-old daughter Safiyyah cycle without supervision. "She's taking her cycling proficiency test, but whenever she goes out practicing I have to drive beside her in the car," he said.
"The cycle lanes are dominated by buses and taxis, so if we want to go cycling we have to drive here with the bikes. Why can't our government follow Holland's example and spend a bit of money on this?"
The Scottish Government has set a target that by 2022 50% of adults and 80% of children are expected to meet international recommendations for daily levels of physical activity, with adults doing at least 30 minutes most days of the week and children doing one hour each day of the week.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "Last week, we announced record funding of £12m over three years for physical activ-ity in schools, workplaces, homes and communities."
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