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news
London cyclists at Hyde Park Corner (copyright Britishcycling.org_.uk).jpgCycling to work as effective as daily gym visits for weight loss, study finds
Commuting by bike is as effective as going to the gym each day when it comes to losing weight, according to a new study.
The study, which will be published in the International Journal of Obesity, was carried out by researchers at the University of Copenhagen with the subjects comprising 130 overweight people aged 20-45 and with a body mass index of 25–35 kg/m2 living in the Greater Copenhagen area.
Over the six-month study period, some followed their existing lifestyles to provide a control group, while some were asked to commute by bike to work each day, with an average daily distance of eight miles.
Others were put through a five-day-a-week gym routine aimed at achieving weight loss, comprising either 35 or 55 minutes a day.
On average, people undertaking 55 minutes of daily exercise lost 9.9lbs (4.5kg) during the period, while those who rode a bike to work lost 9.2lbs (4.2kg). Those who exercised for 35 minutes each day lost 5.7lbs (2.6kg).
“A meaningful fat loss was obtained by 6 months of active commuting and leisure-time exercise, but fat loss was greater with vigorous compared to moderate intensity exercise,” the study concluded.
“Active commuting is an alternative to leisure-time exercise in the management of overweight and obesity.”
Professor Bente Stallknecht, who led the study, said: “This is good news to the many overweight people who may not have the time or inclination to join a fitness centre, because they also have to pick up their children and cook dinner after work.”
He added: “Our results show that it is possible to combine transport to and from work with effective physical exercise.”
Weight loss is just one of the benefits of an active commute.
A study in 2014 found that those who commuted by bike were less liable to suffer from stress and were more productive at work.
> Walking or cycling to work means less stress and more productivity, study finds
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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12 comments
I used to love caning it into work despite knowing I'd be on my feet all day in a fairly physically demanding job.
My fastest commute when I was a whippersnapper on a Raleigh Record Sprint was 7miles in circa 21minutes, admittedly a fair bit was country roads and dual carriageway with very little incline but I was a lean 87kg.
25+ years later and it aint quite the same but modern bikes most defintely take up some of the slack/pounds you've piled on.lol
I think there is something psychologically different in exercising as transport and exercising in free time. TBH, if I didn't cycle to work I'd probably be a stone heavier as I need to be in OCD mode to get anything decent done outside of weekend morning rides.
For me it's the regularity: twice a day, every day. Great for base training and keeping timber off. Enforces discipline too - training fatigued which I probably wouldn't otherwise get done.
If I ever have any time away from it, it only takes a few weeks and I'm pretty much back up-to-speed.
I totally agree as regards the regularity of it: just doing it as part of the daily routine, so not having to make any special effort to fit it in.
Plus it's time that'd be going on a commute anyway.
My options are Car: 25 mins if clear. Bike: 50-60 mins. Train: 90 mins because of getting to the station and changing trains.
There's extra faff with my bike commute, kit logistics, shower at either end etc. But even before you calculate costs (bike's a big winner for me there), over a year, do I want to have spent 8 days commuting in a car, 3 weeks often standing on a train, plus a load extra waiting for late/cancelled trains, or average about 8 hours per week of reasonable cardio?
No brainer for me.
Stating the bleeding obvious perhaps, and any cyclist already knows this, but to have it scientifically proved is always useful.
Of course cycling is much easier to integrate into your life, using the trip to work as a dose of exercise instead of having to go to the gym to exercise every day, not something most people could do or would want to do.
I look forward to the government immediately ignoring this study, just like all the other ones proving how beneficial cycling is, and spending all the money on more roads, HS2 and a few other pet projects like Hinckley Point. Why would a government spend taxpayers' money on what is by far the best value when they can waste it on things which cost a hundred times more and have much less benefit? It's as if there is some kind of hidden agenda!
Even more vital given the obesity crisis set to bankrupt the NHS.
Yep... With £150bn spent on health, they should join the dots... Or maybe they have...
£160bn is spent on pensions. Do they really want us living long lives...?
It's not hidden at all. It's a self-supporting circle. Political parties work for the people who fund them (i.e. in the case of the Tories - big business) and pay for the campaigns.
Political decisions are therefore made on the basis that they benefit big business. Having a lot more cyclists generally doesn't (a bit of infrastructure spend). So even though it might be common sense it doesn't happen.
Which (off-topic) is why we need a properly accountable voting system (PR) rather than the FPTP system...
What if you work in a doughnut factory?
Then the handlebars provide somewhere handy to store your 'benefits' package
Stay in the big ring, dropping the front mech can cause jammin... Either way, it stops them being glazy...
Jezuz. I can't top that - I bet you've got 100s and 1,000s of those.