Commuting is good for the health
People who commute to work are healthier than those who drive or ride bikes to work, says a new study. Commuters are found to have a lower risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and being overweight
While it’s already established that a physically active lifestyle helps reduce the likelihood of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, it is unclear whether these risk factors for heart disease and stroke are affected by how you get to work.
A Japanese study compared bus/train commuters, walkers/bikers and drivers and adjusted for other factors such as age, gender, smoking, and others. Compared to drivers, public transportation users were:
- 44% less likely to be overweight;
- 27% less likely to have high blood pressure; and
- 34% less likely to have diabetes.
The bus/train commuters had even lower rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and overweight than the walkers or bikers. The researchers suggested that one explanation could be that these commuters actually walked farther to and from the train or bus station than walkers or bikers traveled to and from work.
“If it takes longer than 20 minutes one-way to commute by walking or cycling, many people seem to take public transportation or a car in urban areas of Japan,” said lead study author Hisako Tsuji, M.D., director of the Moriguchi City Health Examination Center in Osaka, Japan.
“People should consider taking public transportation instead of a car, as a part of daily, regular exercise,” Tsuji said. “It may be useful for healthcare providers to ask patients about how they commute.”
Category: Features, Wellness and Complementary Therapies
