Riding a bike for one hour extends the average cyclist’s life by the same amount of time, according to a study in the Netherlands, which also found that they live six months longer than people who do not ride bikes.
Researchers at the University of Utrecht’s Healthy Urban Living programme reached that conclusion based on statistics on the transport choices made by 50,000 people living in the Netherlands, with their findings published in the American Journal of Public Health.
The data, which revealed that across the population as a whole, people ride a bike for an average of 75 minutes a week, accounting for a quarter of all trips, was then run through a new computational tool devised by the World Health Organization.
One of the researchers involved in the project, Dr Carlijn Kamphuis, said: “We were able to calculate that on average, for every hour of cycling people live about an hour longer.
"For Dutch people, that equates to living for about six months longer for every 75 minutes of cycling each week.
"Additionally, it appears that about 11,000 premature deaths are saved each year through cycling."
"This is important information to convince policy makers about the significance of promoting cycling measures" he continued.
"The figures speak for themselves. An investment in better cycle paths, for example, is easily recovered through the enormous health benefits and potential financial savings.
"There are also other benefits from cycling including improved air quality, reduced traffic and as people move more, less burden due to illness."
Dr Elliot Fishman, director of the Institute for Sensible Transport in Melbourne, who was also involved in rthe research, said: "When it comes to the benefits of cycling, the Netherlands can present these figures as a benchmark to the rest of the world.
"Nowhere in the world do people cycle as much as they do in the Netherlands," he added.
In the UK, a report from Cyclescheme we reported on in April said that if current trends in the growth of the number of people commuting by bike continue over the next decade, it could save the NHS £2.5 billion between now and 2025.
The same report also predicted a £830 million boost to the country’s economy due to a healthier and happier workforce.
I don't know of any premise of a societal shift in attitude towards modern riders of going soft. This just feels like another of the media's habit...
The message from the UN is clear: Murdered-out SUV = one of us Bakfiets fitted with child seats = suspicious
Or a fat bike.
At least we now know what to do if an example of bad driving coincides with a royal visit to your local area. Just tell the police that you thought...
life's too short, use rock and roll gold, get a shimano chain checker, the rest don't work correctly, and change when needed.
Ah, the beautiful poetry of Britney Spears, sounding like an advert for domestic violence.
Guessing because they're thick as mince and thought the brake rotor has to come off before you can get the motor out. Hope Anna gets back on the...
Shimano is Japanese not Taiwanese.
Gave the finger first - so his ensuing action was more likely pre-meditated than merely "careless". And I wonder what effort will go into...
The most runtime I ever had from a GoPro was around 1h 40m (gave up on GoPro years ago as a safety cam, swapping batteries & cards mid ride was...