According to the first giant U.S. Study of health and commuting, very few of us essentially do it – in fact just below 17% of working adults surveyed biked or walked for any part of their commute.
Previous research has found that countries with the greatest levels of walking or biking have lower obesity levels as well .
But studies on how these activities might have an impact on Americans has been pretty limited, till this cross-sectional study. This latest work appears in the July 13, 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Of the study partakers, 192 ( 18% ) of the men, 203 ( 16% ) of the women were categorized as active commuters. The average length of the physical part of their daily commute for the bikers and walkers was five miles. Almost all of the subjects walked, rather than biked, to work.
The analysis revealed that active commuters did better on treadmill tests of fitness, even if they accounted for any other physical activities subjects did in their own time.
The discoveries here suggest the activity of traveling to work can impact on overall fitness.
The participants, more than 2,300 city-dwellers in their middle years were indulging in a federally sponsored study known as Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults ( CARDIA ).
For men, but not girls, analysts discovered that the commuters who biked or walked had better BMI numbers, blood pressure, insulin and triglycerides.
The researchers explain these by making the recommendation that the women in the study walked or biked shorter distances to the office, or were less vigorous in their workouts.
Of course there’s also the difficulty of which came 1st, are already active folk more sure to be active commuters as well , or is the walk ( or bike ) to work planting the seed for being more active in other areas of life as well?
Being an active commuter might not be easy.
Beyond the challenge of arriving to work sweat-covered and gasping, an active commute is often hampered by crumbling paths, few bike trails and real concerns about safety.
Zoning in many U.S. Towns keeps commercial and home areas separate, and this makes commutes longer and being active along the path virtually impossible.
Cities that build bike trails have a higher rate of biking, as do workplaces that have on-site showers, areas to change and a safe place to keep your cycle in the day.
The benefits of active commuting go beyond your health and the pluses to the environment to include :
- trustworthy, predictable means to get to and from work, or a point on the way
- works for businesses by encouraging health as well as corporate responsibility
- reduces stress and improves productiveness of the commuters
More research is needed to find the amount of active commuting that will benefit your wellbeing, but this earth and health friendly method to get from home to work is definitely going to get more attention over the coming years as it seems to be better for fitness levels overall.
Next – just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for information why you should ride your bike to work. Click here for more details on study and more reasons to ride your bike to work.
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