Cycling or walking to and from work or school has immense mental and physical health benefits and may lower your risk of death, finds a Scottish study published in the journal BMJ Public Health. Researchers compared the health benefits of active versus inactive commuting in 82,297 people in the UK, aged 16-74 years, who listed their mode of travel in a government census.
Walking or cycling was considered active commuting, and all other types of commuting were defined as inactive. Researchers analysed hospital admissions, deaths and prescription records for nearly two decades.
Cycling provided the greatest boost to a person’s wellbeing—it was associated with a 47 per cent lower risk of death from any cause, a 51 per cent lower risk of dying from cancer and a 24 per cent lower risk of being admitted to hospital for the disease, a 10 per cent lower risk of any hospital admission, a 24 per cent lower risk of hospital admission for heart disease, a 30 per cent lower risk of being prescribed a drugs for cardiovascular diseases, and a 20 per cent lower risk of being prescribed drugs for mental health issues.
But there was a downside—cyclists were twice as likely as to be admitted to the hospital after a traffic accident. Pedestrian commuting was also associated with similar health benefits, but to a lesser extent.
