As a form of commuting, bicycling has positive effects on weight, and parameters of cardiovascular health.
Researchers from Imperial College (United Kingdom) examined the modes and duration of travel to work in rural and urban India and associations between active travel and overweight, hypertension, and diabetes. Finding that: “Walking and bicycling to work was associated with reduced cardiovascular risk in the Indian population,” and encourage: “Efforts to increase active travel in urban areas and halt declines in rural areas should be integral to strategies to maintain healthy weight and prevent [noncommunicable diseases].”
References:
- Millett C, Agrawal S, Sullivan R, Vaz M, Kurpad A, Bharathi AV, Prabhakaran D, Reddy KS, Kinra S, Smith GD, Ebrahim S; Indian Migration Study group. “Associations between Active Travel to Work and Overweight, Hypertension, and Diabetes in India: A Cross-Sectional Study.” PLoS Med. 2013 Jun;10(6):e1001459.