A study in Osaka found that people who use public transport are healthier than those who cycle or walk to work.
Those who have just spent 1 hour this morning in a crowded subway train to get to their work will probably find it hard to believe it! And yet, taking public transport to work is not only good for the environment, but also appears to be beneficial for your health.
Subways, buses or other trams would in any case do better than walking or cycling to reduce cardiovascular risk, overweight and diabetes. These are the conclusions of a Japanese study published this Sunday.
Presented at the annual conference of the American Heart Association, this weekend in Orlando (Florida), this work was carried out in 2012 in Osaka. They covered more than 5,900 people aged 49 to 54. The researchers compared people taking the bus, train, or both to work daily with those using their cars, as well as those who walked or used a bicycle. Importantly, the team also took into account other factors including age, gender and even smoking.
Less high blood pressure and diabetes
Conclusion, subjects using public transport reduced their risk of suffering from overweight, hypertension, or diabetes by 44%, 27% and 34% respectively, compared to those who walked or cycled daily. . According to the authors, this could be explained by the fact that commuters walk more to take the bus or train than those who go to work on foot or by bicycle.
“While it takes more than twenty minutes to walk or ride a bicycle to work, many people take public transport or their cars in Japan,” Dr. Hisako Tsuji, director of the Moriguchi Health Services Center in Osaka.
“The public should consider taking public transport instead of the car as part of regular physical exercise,” she added. According to her, “it could be useful for doctors to ask their patients how they are going to work”.
Women more in public transport
The study also found that most of those who used their cars to go to the office were men, while more women took public transport, walked or used a bicycle.
However, Dr. Hisako Tsuji said that the fact that the participants in this study were all Japanese limits its scope, as this population is less often overweight than Americans, for example. Thus, “physical activity could be more effective in reducing diabetes among the Japanese than in Western populations,” she adds.
However, using public transport instead of the car lowers air pollution. A city lightened by polluting vehicles represents an undeniable health advantage, explained recently Why actor in a survey.
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