A three-year £140m government programme to encourage people to cycle was outlined by Baroness Thornton in the Lords today.
Responding to a question on obesity from Lord Berkeley, Thornton said the programme run through Cycling England would increase the number of dedicated cycle lanes and increase available bike parking.
She explained that the government aimed to have 500,000 children trained how to cycle safely by 2012.
Dubbed the "life Lord for cycling" by Thornton, Lord Berkeley said that 30,000 people die a year from obesity, and called for the government do more to tackle the problem.
He noted that the UK compared unfavourably to Denmark and the Netherlands in terms of levels of obesity and cycling.
"People cycle 12 times further in the Netherlands but the obesity is two-and-a-half times less," he said.
Thornton responded that the government was working with NHS trusts to plan a "major promotion" of cycling
"As part of our obesity strategy, we are implementing a number of initiatives for NHS to recognise the benefits of cycling," she said.
But she added: "We can't do anything about the fact we have more hills in the UK than they do in the Netherlands."
Conservative health spokesman Lord McColl of Dulwich, said that simply "eating less" was an essential part of weight loss.
"We are what we eat," he declared.
Thornton acknowledged that people "of course" need to eat less, but said that physical activity remained a "key driver" of weight loss.
