Ditch your car and take a walk to your college or hop on the bus to reach your workplace. A latest study shows how active commuting can help you fight off your weight woes. A recent study published in the British Medical Journal states that active and public modes of transport are linked to lower body weight and body fat composition. It further showed that those who walk, cycle or use public transport over personal means of transportation are seen to be at a lower risk of being overweight. Despite this, there remained a substantial lack of evidence that would link active commuting with objective measures of obesity.The British researches attempted to investigate the relationship between active commuting and two known markers for obesity - body mass index (BMI) and percentage body fat. A total of 7,534 BMI measurements and 7,424 percentage body fat measurements were analyzed from men and women who participated in the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study.
According to the researchers, use of public transport, walking and cycling "should be considered as part of strategies to reduce the burden of obesity and related health conditions".During the study, 76 percent of men and 72 percent of women commuted to work by private motorized transport while 10 percent of men and 11 percent of women used public transport. Only 14 percent of men walked or cycled to work compared to 17 percent of women.The study showed that men who commuted via public or active modes had BMI scores around one point lower than those who used private transport, which brought about a difference of 3 kilograms in weight for the average man. On the other hand for women, the active commuters had BMI scores around 0.7 points lower than those who used private transport, equating to a difference of 2.5 kilograms weight for the average woman.
Inputs from IANS
According to the researchers, use of public transport, walking and cycling "should be considered as part of strategies to reduce the burden of obesity and related health conditions".During the study, 76 percent of men and 72 percent of women commuted to work by private motorized transport while 10 percent of men and 11 percent of women used public transport. Only 14 percent of men walked or cycled to work compared to 17 percent of women.The study showed that men who commuted via public or active modes had BMI scores around one point lower than those who used private transport, which brought about a difference of 3 kilograms in weight for the average man. On the other hand for women, the active commuters had BMI scores around 0.7 points lower than those who used private transport, equating to a difference of 2.5 kilograms weight for the average woman.
Inputs from IANS
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