All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar by:

Dr Paul Kelly, University of  Edinburgh, UK.

Watch Dr Kelly’s presentation on our YouTube channel.

Abstract

The evidence base for the beneficial health effects of walking is well established. However, it is generally focussed on physical health and diseases such as cardiovascular disease or outcomes such as all-cause mortality.

This seminar will look at the evidence base for the mental health benefits of walking. In a recent Scoping Review we found that this evidence base has grown over the last 20 years, but remains fragmented and conflicting on some important outcomes.

In their seminal “Walking to Health” paper in 1997 Morris and Hardman stated that “The pleasurable and therapeutic, psychological and social dimensions of walking, whilst evident, have been surprisingly little studied”. This seminar will discuss the extent to which this statement still holds in 2018.

About Dr Kelly

Paul has been a Lecturer in Physical Activity for Health at the University of Edinburgh since August 2014 is based at the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC) led by Prof Nanette Mutrie MBE.

His primary research focus is the measurement of physical activity and the evaluation of physical activity interventions. Paul is a member of the Communication and Surveillance Expert Group for the 2018 Chief Medical Officer Physical Activity Guidelines update – if you have any thoughts on communicating physical activity for health to the public please get in touch!

Paul previously worked at the University of Oxford, where he completed a PhD (2010-2013) in using wearable cameras to measure active travel.

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