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Indians who walk or cycle to work have a lower cardiovascular risk as they are less likely to be overweight or obese, have diabetes or high blood pressure, according to a new study.
Researchers from Imperial College London and the Public Health Foundation of India said that the findings suggest encouraging more people to use physically active modes of transport could reduce rates of important risk factors for many chronic diseases.
Rates of diabetes and heart disease are projected to increase dramatically in India and other low and middle income countries over the next two decades.
The study, published in journal PLOS Medicine, analysed physical activity and health information collected from almost 4,000 participants in the Indian Migration Study (IMS), conducted during 2005-2007.
The IMS was carried out in factory settings in four cities from northern (Lucknow, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd), central (Nagpur, Indorama Synthetics Ltd), and southern India (Hyderabad, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd; and Bangalore, Hindustan Machine Tools Ltd).
Researchers found that 68.3 per cent of people in rural areas in India bicycled and 11.9 per cent walked to work, compared with 15.9 per cent cycling and 12.5 per cent walking in towns and cities.
Half of people who travelled to work by private transport and 38 per cent who took public transport were overweight, compared with only a quarter of people who walked or cycled to work.
The study found similar patterns for rates of high blood pressure and diabetes.
“This study highlights that walking and cycling to work is not only good for the environment but also good for personal health,” said Christopher Millett, of the School of Public Health at Imperial and the Public Health Foundation of India, who led the study.
“People can get the exercise they need by building physical activity into their travel to work, so they don’t need to make extra time for the gym.
“Getting more people to use active modes of travel should be integral to strategies to maintain healthy weight and prevent diabetes and heart disease in India.
“This should include improving the safety and convenience of walking and bicycling in Indian towns and cities, and also greater investment in public transport, since this travel generally involves walking to bus or train stops,” he said.
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