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Walking, cycling to work decreases BMI, body fat percentage
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Adults who commute to work by cycling or walking have a lower BMI and body fat percentage than those who commute by car, according to recent findings.
“Physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of ill health and premature mortality,” Ellen Flint, PhD, of the department of social and environmental health research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said in a press release. “Encouraging public transport and active commuting, especially for those in midlife when obesity becomes an increasing problem, could be an important part of the global policy response to population-level obesity prevention.”
In a cross-sectional, observational study, Flint and Steven Cummins, PhD, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, analyzed U.K. Biobank data from more than 150,000 adults aged 40 to 69 years who visited 22 assessment centers across the United Kingdom between 2006 and 2010 and reported their commuting behavior. Participants were asked, “What types of transport do you use to get to and from work?” Responses (including car, walking, public transport or cycling) were divided into seven categories to reflect typical levels of physical exertion. Confounders included income, area deprivation, urban or rural residence, education, leisure and physical activity, and disability. Final complete case sample sizes were 72,888 men and 83,667 women for the BMI outcome and 72,139 men and 82,788 women for the body fat percentage outcome.
Within the cohort, 64% of men and 61% of women reported commuting by car; 4% of men and 7% of women reported walking as their only method of commuting; 4% of men and 2% of women reported cycling or a mix of cycling or walking as their means of commuting. Overall, 23% of men and 24% of women reported using active transport either solely or as part of a mix of methods to commute to work.
Researchers found that, across all models, active commuting was significantly and independently associated with reduced BMI and percentage of body fat for men and women, with a graded pattern apparent across the seven commuting categories.
Men who combined public transport with active commuting methods had a BMI that was 1 kg/m² lower than that of car-only commuters (95% CI, –1.14 to –0.87). Women who combined public transport with active commuting saw a smaller, but still significant decrease in BMI vs. car-only commuters (–0.67 kg/m²; 95% CI –0.86 to –0.47). Men who exclusively cycled to work saw the greatest decrease in BMI vs. car-only commuters after multivariable adjustment (–1.71 kg/m²; 95% CI, –1.86 to –1.56), as did women (–1.65 kg/m²; 95% CI, –1.92 to –1.38).
“Previous studies with smaller sample sizes typically included cycling and walking in one active-commuting category,” the researchers wrote. “Our results suggest that this approach might mask larger associations between cycling and reduced obesity.”
Men who combined mixed public transport and active commuting also had a significantly lower percentage body fat when compared with car-only commuters (–1.32%; 95% CI, –1.53 to –1.12), as did women (–1.1%; 95% CI, –1.4 to –0.81). Commuters who combined cycling and walking as their methods of commuting saw a greater reduction in body fat vs. car-only commuters (men, –2.75%; 95% CI, –3.03 to –2.48; women, –3.26%; 95% CI, –3.8 to –2.71).
“For both active categories, traveling greater distances was independently associated with lower BMI and percentage body fat,” the researchers wrote. “However, even individuals who reported a mix of public and active methods were also found to have significantly lower percentage body fat and BMI than those who exclusively commuted by car, with a similar size of association seen for the walking only and the mixed public and active transport categories.” – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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