Nashville Health Official Says The Amp Can Make The City A Healthier Place

Nashville’s top health official is making the case that the Amp could improve the health of the city’s residents. (Photo Credit: Mayor’s Office)

Over the weekend, Dr. Bill Paul, Nashville’s top health official, put in a plug for the Amp in a Tennessean opinion piece. He wrote that cities with popular mass transit systems have lower obesity rates.

The this-project-is-healthy-for-you angle could be another arrow in supporters’ quiver as they continue public meetings on the Amp this week.

Most health professionals recommend a half-hour of exercise a day to stay fit, and Paul says for a public commuter, that’s often accomplished by walking to and from the bus stop.

People who use public transit are less likely to be sedentary or obese than those who don’t. One study found that transit users take, on average, 30 percent more steps a day.

It’s an especially urgent issue in Nashville, where more than 60 percent of the city’s adults are overweight of obese.

As it relates to the Amp, Mayor Karl Dean’s proposed 7-mile bus rapid transit line, Paul said in an interview with WPLN that the tension and stress of sitting in traffic contributes to overall health, not to mention the impact on air quality.

The Amp, he said, could potentially lessen or exacerbate those concerns.

“If there are fewer lanes of traffic, will those lanes of traffic go slower and cause more stress and air pollution?” Paul asked. “There could be some trade-offs.”

He said neither the Amp, nor any other single mass transit project, is going to be a magic bullet, though if cities that have robust transit are any indication, studies show that as more adopt transit options, overall health levels generally improve.

“One transit project is not going to have a major impact on all of our health. But if we move toward transit projects as a city, it can move us a step closer to healthy living,” Paul said.