Cities with bike paths or policies that make walking or biking to work easier have higher fitness levels across the board. By now, it should come as no surprise that walking and biking to work is linked with fitness.
In a study of over 2,000 city dwellers from four cities around the United States, researchers found that walking and biking to work is directly linked with overall fitness and wellness. While they found that only 17 percent of workers walk or bike any portion of their commute, this small percentage of men and women did better on fitness tests, even when accounting and correcting for physical activity performed during leisure time.
For men, active commuters (those who walk or bike to work) had healthier numbers for body mass index, blood pressure, insulin and triglycerides. These same results were not seen for women. Researches speculated that women walked or biked shorter distances in their commute, or that they did so less vigorously. Study participants cited unkempt and crumbling sidewalks, a lack of bike paths, and long distances for their reasons for not walking or biking to work.
Of course, one factor that may compromise the integrity of the study is whether or not fitness levels affect the choice to walk or bike to work. While researchers admit that it is possible that people who are already fit may choose to actively commute to work, they also speculate that the reverse might be true. The information in this study comes from participants from Chicago, Minneapolis, Birmingham and Oakland, who answered questions regarding their fitness levels and commuting habits in 2005 and 2006.
http://wbztv.com/health/walking.biking.fitnes.2.1083652.html
