The findings of this study are consistent with the results of other studies that found increased spatial accessibility of public transport
was associated with increased walking, (Hoehner et al., 2005; McCormack et al., 2008; Targa and Clifton, 2005; Coogan et al., 2009) and
meeting physical activity recommendations (McConville et al., 2011; Hoehner et al., 2005). The results are also consistent with, and
augment, the small number of studies measuring service frequency and travel time contours, which also found increases in walking and
physical activity with increased accessibility (Djurhuus et al., 2014a, 2014b; Wasfi et al., 2013). Compared to the findings on walking, the
lack of any significant association of public transport access with obesity, the metabolic syndrome and diabetes is not unexpected, as these
physiological outcomes are a step further removed from environmental determinants and are likely to be weaker in magnitude. However
the modest increases in walking with increased accessibility suggest that flow-on effects for population health are plausible, and may be
better detected with improved measurement of public transport accessibility, use and related walking as argued below.
Inconsistencies between the findings of previous studies and the present study may be due to the fact that the relevant body of
evidence is not extensive and there is considerable diversity in the exposure and outcome measures used and populations studied. In