New research published in the medical journal, Archives of Internal Medicine, indicates that people who ride their bicycles or walk to work are healthier than those who drive or take public transportation.
The study, published by the journal in its July 13 edition, reports that participants who bicycle or walk to work are more fit and less fat.
Unfortunately, slightly less than 17 percent of the more than 2,000 adult commuters surveyed in the study said they ride their bikes or walk to work, even part of the way. Researchers who led the study at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health said getting more people to “commute actively” requires reducing environmental barriers to make biking and walking safer.
Penny Gordon-Larsen, the study’s lead researcher, told the Associated Press that environmental barriers – including a lack of bike paths, crumbling sidewalks and long commute distances – keep Americans from active commuting by bike or foot and in their cars.
The research is yet another indicator of how the Ohio River Trail project – connecting downtown Cincinnati to Lunken Airport and eventually the Little Miami Bike Trail – can benefit the region.
The study included adult commuters in Chicago, Minneapolis, Birmingham, Ala., and Oakland, Calif. During examinations conducted between 2005 and 2006, participants reported the length of their commute in minutes and miles, including details on the percentage of the trip taken by car, public transportation, walking or bicycling.
Researchers also recorded the participants’ height, weight and other health variables, including blood pressure and fitness levels as assessed by a treadmill test. In addition, subjects wore an accelerometer to measure their levels of physical activity during at least four days of the study period. The average length of active commuters’ trips was 20 minutes for men and 17 minutes for women.
Previous research has shown that nations with higher levels of biking and walking have lower obesity levels. Only a small amount of research has been conducted analyzing the health of Americans of commute to work by bike or foot.
The study, published by the journal in its July 13 edition, reports that participants who bicycle or walk to work are more fit and less fat.
Unfortunately, slightly less than 17 percent of the more than 2,000 adult commuters surveyed in the study said they ride their bikes or walk to work, even part of the way. Researchers who led the study at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health said getting more people to “commute actively” requires reducing environmental barriers to make biking and walking safer.
Penny Gordon-Larsen, the study’s lead researcher, told the Associated Press that environmental barriers – including a lack of bike paths, crumbling sidewalks and long commute distances – keep Americans from active commuting by bike or foot and in their cars.
The research is yet another indicator of how the Ohio River Trail project – connecting downtown Cincinnati to Lunken Airport and eventually the Little Miami Bike Trail – can benefit the region.
The study included adult commuters in Chicago, Minneapolis, Birmingham, Ala., and Oakland, Calif. During examinations conducted between 2005 and 2006, participants reported the length of their commute in minutes and miles, including details on the percentage of the trip taken by car, public transportation, walking or bicycling.
Researchers also recorded the participants’ height, weight and other health variables, including blood pressure and fitness levels as assessed by a treadmill test. In addition, subjects wore an accelerometer to measure their levels of physical activity during at least four days of the study period. The average length of active commuters’ trips was 20 minutes for men and 17 minutes for women.
Previous research has shown that nations with higher levels of biking and walking have lower obesity levels. Only a small amount of research has been conducted analyzing the health of Americans of commute to work by bike or foot.
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