Walking isn’t only good for our physical, social and mental health. It’s also good for our communities, the environment and the economy.
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This blog was written for Enlighten as part of their NHS 2048 series.
Walking and wheeling should be at the heart of public health. Being more active through walking and wheeling supports healthier and longer lives. That takes pressure off our health and social care services.
Older adults, people in more deprived communities and those with disabilities or long-term conditions have lower levels of physical activity. Public Health Scotland says that the biggest impact on disease will come through enabling those people to be more active. For that to happen we need to remove barriers to living actively.
Promoting walking and wheeling is key to this.
This could also reduce the economic challenge of an ageing population. The Scottish Fiscal Commission says that “… if improvements in population health can be achieved, pressure on health-related spending may be reduced in the future”.
Preventative spend can improve population health and help address rising health care costs.
A recent meeting of the Scottish Parliament Finance and Public Administration Committee highlighted this. This included discussion of measures to improve population health and reduce health inequalities, such as walking and wheeling.
We stress that getting very inactive people more active and enabling them to stay active for longer is crucial.
Public Health Scotland (PHS) said that a public health approach to prevention “would stop issues emerging in the first place” and that “by supporting individuals with chronic health conditions, Scotland can improve workforce participation, tackle child poverty, support economic growth and contribute to fiscal sustainability”.
This is an approach taken in the Population Health Framework and the PHS 10-year strategy. This is a shift in culture, from treating illness to prevention – a whole-system approach to improving health.
The health and economic case for preventative action is well evidenced.
This is nothing new. From the public health measures of the 19th Century onwards – sanitation, housing, vaccines, tackling smoking through to our response to Covid – we have long known that it is often more effective to address the cause of illness rather than treat the symptoms. The Christie Commission recommended this in 2011.
The challenge is making this happen.
Walking has been described as ‘a best buy for public and planetary health’.
The principle of ‘spend a little now to save more later’ has never been more relevant. Preventative spending is about investing in addressing causes, rather than endlessly treating symptoms.
In doing this we need to consider health inequalities.
The people most in need of access to health services and healthy behaviour often do not or cannot access it. There are accessibility challenges for marginalised or protected groups. Factors like language barriers, gender, cultural and religious sensitivities, and sensory impairments all play a part. Crucially, poverty is a key barrier for many.
We need treatment when we are ill, but we should also try to keep as well as possible for as long as possible.
An emphasis on enhancing people’s wellbeing moves health care beyond hospitals and health centres and into the community. It can help move the NHS from a ‘sickness service’ to a ‘wellness service.’
Walking and wheeling can play an important part in this.
Investing in walking and wheeling is a good example of preventative spend. It helps people with long-term conditions to keep active longer. This is important as our population ages and pressure increases on NHS budgets.
There is wide support for greater focus on preventing illness. We need to educate and support people to make healthy lifestyle choices. Being more active is an important part of this. Participation in sport varies by age, gender, deprivation, and household income. With walking, the gap narrows. Walking is a good leveller and can help tackle health inequalities.
Walking brings mental and physical health benefits. It reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and certain cancers. Lower income and marginalised communities often have higher rates of these – so walking can help reduce inequality. Walking helps in managing weight, improving cardiovascular health, and enhancing overall fitness, which can lead to longer and healthier lives.
Prioritising physical activity is the population-wide approach that will help more people enjoy benefits in their social, mental, and physical health.
Walking is one of the most inclusive and accessible forms of physical activity – needing no specialist equipment or the need to travel to take part. Increasing investment in it nationally and locally will increase the scale, pace, and reach of change.
Regular walking and wheeling are popular, accessible, and effective. It is simple, low-cost, enjoyable and fits into everyday life.
Our Walking and Wheeling Survey 2025 shows that 57% of adults now walk or wheel every day (up from 52% in 2023) and 86% walk several times a week. But 5% still say they never walk, despite over half saying they would like to walk more for leisure (68%) and routine reasons (63%).
Poor pavement quality, safety concerns, and poor access to local amenities are the top barriers to walking more. 55% say that they would be encouraged to walk or wheel more often if routes in their area were safer.
Encouraging walking and wheeling is not free. It requires significant, sustained investment to make our paths and streets accessible to all, in rural and urban communities across Scotland. We need commitment to a National Path Fund to improve paths, path networks. We also need sustained investment to support outdoor access, access officers, and ranger services.
Regular maintenance of paths can prevent slips, trips and falls. These reduce the mobility of older people and increase pressure on health and social services.
Investing much more in promoting physical activity as part of our daily lives is the type of change that will deliver positive outcomes. It will create healthier, happier, and more resilient people and a more sustainable health system.
Where paths and local environments are safe, accessible, and well-maintained, people choose to walk and wheel more often.
It is our aim is to make this a choice for everyone.
Published: 18 February 2026
