Want to relax? Lose weight? Bike to work, studies say

I’m feeling wide awake at work this Friday morning, and it’s not thanks to a dose of caffeine. It’s one of the perks of bike commuting; after your route to work, you’ll walk into the office feeling both industrious and relaxed. It’s great for fitness and weight loss, too. In fact, bike commuting is even more effective than regularly going to the gym. Science agrees with me, or more specifically, a study by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The study revealed that people who drive to work gain more weight than those who do not commute by car.

The Center for Advancing Health writes:

“Overall, the 822 adults surveyed gained about 3.5 pounds during the four-year study. Daily car commuters gained the most weight, while those who drove only occasionally or never drove gained smaller amounts. Daily drivers, even if they engaged in weekly exercise, gained on average 3 pounds more than non-car commuters. The only people who avoided weight gain altogether were non-car commuters who also achieved recommended levels of exercise.”

There’s nothing wrong with barbells or a round of hot yoga. The factor that elevates bike commuting is the volume of time spent exercising. The study’s researchers estimate that 150-250 minutes of weekly exercise is necessary for maintaining your weight. Put simply, you’re far more likely to put in a work out when it’s a utility, rather than a visit to the gym that eats up of your downtime.

Jay Walljasper of Grist corroborates this, with a specific look at Portland commuters:

The key advantage of traveling by bike over working out at a fitness center is that most people find it easier to do. Instead of vying for scarce free time with many other fun and important things, exercise becomes something we do naturally as part of daily routine. As a study by Portland State University professor Jennifer Dill in the Journal of Public Health Policy shows, 60 percent of Portland cyclists ride for at least 150 minutes per week (the recommended exercise minimum for adults) and that “nearly all the bicycling was for utilitarian purposes, not exercise.”

As SmartSign’s resident bike commuter, look for more posts from me on safety and health issues that surround biking to work, as well as its myriad benefits (not excluding that certain je ne sais quois of self-satisfaction).