A large study has found that people who walk or cycle to work or school may have better mental and physical health than those who use other forms of transport.
The research, published in BMJ Public Health, suggests that these “active commuters” enjoy significant health benefits, particularly those who cycle.
Cycling, in particular, stood out in the study. Researchers discovered that people who cycle to work have a 47% lower risk of dying from any cause compared to people who don’t engage in active commuting. Walking also showed positive health effects, though not as strong as cycling.
The idea behind this study is that active commuting—getting to work or school by walking or cycling—is one of the easiest ways to fit regular physical activity into your daily life.
Physical activity is essential for overall health, and there’s growing evidence that it can help prevent a range of diseases.
While previous studies have shown the benefits of active commuting, many of them were short-term or focused on specific age groups. This new study aimed to address those gaps by looking at data over a longer period and including a wider range of people.
To conduct the study, researchers used data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study, which collects information from about 5% of the Scottish population through census data.
They looked at people between the ages of 16 and 74 who traveled to work or school in 2001. After filtering out incomplete data, the final analysis included 82,297 participants.
The study participants were asked how they usually commuted, and those who walked or cycled were classified as “active commuters.” Other modes of transportation, such as driving or public transport, were labeled as “inactive commuting.”
Researchers then linked the participants’ commuting methods to various health outcomes between 2001 and 2018. These outcomes included hospital admissions for conditions like cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as road traffic collisions.
They also looked at deaths from any cause and tracked prescriptions for mental health medications, such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and sedatives.
The findings were striking. Over the course of the study, 4,276 participants died, with almost half of those deaths attributed to cancer.
More than 64% of the participants were admitted to the hospital at some point during the study, with cardiovascular disease and cancer being the most common reasons for admission.
Nearly 39% of the participants were prescribed medication for cardiovascular disease, and 41% received prescriptions for mental health issues.
When the researchers compared the health outcomes of active commuters to those who used inactive modes of transport, the benefits of cycling and walking became clear.
People who cycled to work had a 47% lower risk of dying from any cause, a 51% lower risk of dying from cancer, and a 30% lower risk of being prescribed medication for cardiovascular disease.
Cyclists were also 20% less likely to be prescribed medication for mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
People who walked to work or school also experienced some health benefits, though not as dramatic as those seen in cyclists.
Walking was linked to an 11% lower risk of hospital admission for any reason and a 10% lower risk of being hospitalized for cardiovascular disease. Walkers were also 7% less likely to be prescribed medication for mental health problems.
Despite these benefits, the study did highlight one risk for cyclists: they were twice as likely to be hospitalized after a road traffic accident compared to inactive commuters. This underscores the need for safer cycling infrastructure to protect those who choose to cycle as their mode of transport.
Although the study provides strong evidence in favor of active commuting, the researchers noted some limitations. For example, the data from the census only represented one point in time and didn’t account for other physical activities the participants might have done.
Additionally, prescription data was only available starting in 2009, so earlier prescriptions weren’t included in the analysis.
The study also didn’t account for mixed modes of transport, where people might walk or cycle for part of their commute and use public transport for the rest.
Despite these limitations, the researchers concluded that active commuting has clear health benefits and contributes to lower risks of illness and death.
They also pointed out the mental health benefits, with fewer people being prescribed medications for anxiety or depression when they walked or cycled regularly.
The findings support the idea that promoting active commuting can improve public health on a large scale. It’s also an environmentally friendly option, as cycling and walking produce no emissions.
However, the researchers stressed the importance of creating safer cycling environments to reduce the risk of accidents for those choosing this healthy form of travel.
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The research findings can be found in BMJ Public Health.
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