The study has a number of important strengths, including that it is population based, with high quality objective data on biomarkers.
Unlike previous research, the study areas from which the sample was drawn encompassed a diverse range of built environments and
transport systems from state capitals to remote country towns. As argued above, it used a more extensive and accurate exposure measure
of public transport accessibility than used in most previous studies. It investigated associations of public transport accessibility with
diabetes and the metabolic syndrome, on which there is little published research. Walking catchment size was based on observed walking
patterns and centred on individual residences thus limiting measurement error and the modifiable areal unit problem, whereby the scale
and zonal area at which a spatial phenomenon (e.g. public transport systems) is investigated do not reflect the scale and zones in which
the corresponding spatial process (e.g. accessibility) occurs, biasing results (Fotheringham and Rogerson, 1993; Fotheringham and Wong,
1991)