If you reside in a city and your work is close by, you'll have thought about walking to work. The advantage of this is that it's better for fitness levels overall.
According to the 1st large U.S. Study of health and commuting, not many of us essentially do it - actually just under 17% of working adults surveyed walked or bicycled for any piece of their journey to work.
Previous research has revealed that nations with the highest levels of walking or biking have reduced obesity levels as well .
But research on how these activities might have an impact on north 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 participants, 192 ( 18% ) of the men, 203 ( 16% ) of the girls were considered active commuters. The average length of the physical part of their journey for both the bikers and walkers was 5 miles. Most of the subjects walked, instead of biked, to work.
The research revealed that active commuters did better on treadmill tests of fitness, even if they took into account any other physical activities subjects did in their leisure time.
The discoveries here suggest that the activity of commuting to work can have an effect on overall fitness.
The participants, more than 2,300 city-dwellers in their middle age were indulging in a federally sponsored study known as Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults ( CARDIA ).
For men, but not ladies, researchers revealed that the commuters who walked or biked had better BMI numbers, blood pressure, insulin and triglycerides.
The analysts explain these by making the recommendation 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 issue of which came 1st, are active folks more likely to be active commuters also 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 simple.
Outside the challenge of arriving to work sweat-covered and panting, an active commute is commonly bound by crumbling sidewalks, few bike trails and real fears about safety.
Zoning in many U.S. Towns keeps commercial and home areas separate, and this makes commutes longer and being active on the way almost impossible.
Cities that build bike paths have a higher rate of biking, as do workplaces that have on-site showers, changing areas and a safe place to keep your bike during the day.
The benefits of active commuting go beyond your health and the pluses to the environment to incorporate :
- trustworthy, predictable means to get to and from work, or a point along the way
- works for companies by encouraging health as well as corporate responsibility
- reduces stress and improves productivity of the commuters
More research is wanted to find the amount of active commuting which will benefit your fitness, but this health friendly method to get from home to work is certainly going to get more attention over the approaching years as it would seem 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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