Active Commuting and Cardiovascular Risk

Researchers have speculated that nonleisure forms of physical activity could have salutary effects on the cardiovascular risk profile of the general population. These investigators used data on individuals working outside the home to determine the association between walking or biking to work with measures of obesity, fitness, and cardiovascular risk.

The CARDIA study, initiated in 1985, is a population-based epidemiologic study of young adults. At the 20-year examination, participants were asked about their commuting habits. Of the 2364 participants working outside the home, 16.7% were using some means of active commuting. In this group, measures of treadmill fitness were higher — and, in men, body-mass indexes were lower — than in those wh…