Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for Walking and for Cycling

The promotion of cycling and walking for everyday physical activity not only promotes health but can also have positive effects on the environment. A new publication has been released providing user guidance on using the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for cycling and walking. The updated publications considers the health effects of road crashes, air pollution and carbon emissions.

The tool can be used in a variety of ways including:

• assessing current (or past) levels of cycling or walking
• assessing changes over time
• evaluating new or existing projects, including calculating benefit–cost ratios.

HEAT can be used as a stand-alone tool or to provide input into more comprehensive economic appraisal exercises or prospective health impact assessment. This methodology and user guide will be of key interest to professionals at both national and local levels: transport planners, traffic engineers, and special interest groups working on transport, walking, cycling or the environment, as well as health economists, physical activity experts and health promotion experts.