This post is directed at those thinking of starting commuting by bike. We have known for a long time that people who exercise are fitter and healthier than those who do not. But does exercise in the form of active travel actually improve your health? If you start commuting by active travel does your health improve? We now have some impressive evidence from two large scale surveys. Both studies looked at body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), a measure of how fat you are and a good index of general health and fitness. Both show an average fall of 0.3 in BMI, about 1kg in body weight, after switching from car transport to cycling or walking to work. One study looked at different duration journeys and found that those doing over 30 min lost an average 6kg (14 lb – a stone) weight. A detailed report with 2 charts is available here (active-travel-to-work)
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