AS FIT AS A PEDAL
Cycling slashes cancer and heart risk say docs
CYCLING to work cuts the risk of heart disease and cancer by almost half, Scots scientists have found.
They found walking to work is also good for you but doesn’t offer the same benefits as taking a bike.
Glasgow University experts released the report after following more than 260,000 people aged 52 or over for five years.
They found cycling to work is linked to a 45 per cent lower risk of cancer and a 46 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared to driving or taking the bus or train. Overall, cyclists had a 41 per cent lower risk of early death from any cause.
Walking to work was linked to a 27 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 36 per cent lower risk of dying from it.
But the experts found that walking didn’t protect people from cancer or dying early from any cause. It took two hours of walking per week at an average of 3mph to see any health benefits.
The Glasgow team said cycling might be better because cyclists tend to cover more miles and do more intense exercise and are fitter than walkers in the first place.
The study, published in the British Medical Jornal, also found some benefits if people cycled part of their journeys.
Dr Jason Gill of the university called on the Government to find more ways to help people cycle to work, such as cycle lanes, bike hire and subsidised bike purchase schemes and making it easier to take bikes on public transport.
He said the changes would create “major opportunities for public health improvement”.