Project 459800

Type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of death and disability in Canada. To date, the majority of the proposed solutions for reducing the burden of type 2 diabetes in Canada focus on "individualized" interventions aimed at changing behaviours, like becoming more active or eating healthier foods. Population-level interventions, that nudge large segments of the population towards a healthy lifestyle, have been understudied as solutions for reducing the burden of type 2 diabetes in urban centres in Canada. The main goal of our team is to complete a series of studies that determine if the expansion of urban trail networks reduces the risk for type 2 diabetes and related conditions (obesity and gestational diabetes) in the neighbourhoods where they are built. Urban trails are tracks of land, dedicated for walking and cycling that are separate from roads and traffic. Between 2022 and 2026 the urban centres of Brandon and Winnipeg will expand the number of urban trail networks, affecting ~500,000 urban citizens. We plan to conduct 4 studies that will (1) determine if this expansion reduces the burden of type 2 diabetes in these two urban centres; (2) determine if the trail networks and health outcomes were equitable between First Nations and non- First Nations people; (3) calculate the economic benefits of trail expansion and (4) use qualitative methods to determine the essential conditions for implementing and sustaining urban trail networks.