Lose weight on the way to work!

Lose weight during your work commute

Leaving your car at home could help shed weight – according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR).

“It is well established that being overweight or obese is linked to a wide range of diseases, most notably type-2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease and stroke” said lead researcher Adam Martin, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School.

More than 4 000 people studied

The research team, from UEA, the University of Cambridge and the University of York, based their findings on the responses of more than 4 000 adults in three annual waves of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) collected between 2004 and 2007.

Commuters reported their usual main mode of travel to work each year, and their height and weight in the first and third years. The researchers then used a series of analyses to see if changes in mode of transport were linked to changes in weight over time.

Work off seven kilograms

“We found that switching from the car to walking, cycling or public transport is associated with an average reduction of 0.32 BMI, which equates to a difference of about one kilogram for the average person,” said Adam Martin.

“This might sound like a relatively small proportion of their total weight, but we also found that the longer the commute, the stronger the association.  For those with a commute of more than 30 minutes, there was an average reduction of 2.25 BMI units, or around seven kilograms for the average person.”

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