Cycling but not walking to work or study is associated with physical fitness, body composition and clustered cardiometabolic risk in young men
Vaara, J. P., Vasankari, T., Fogelholm, M., Koski, H., & Kyröläinen, H. (2020). Cycling but not walking to work or study is associated with physical fitness, body composition and clustered cardiometabolic risk in young men. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 6(1), Article e000668. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000668
Published in
BMJ Open Sport & Exercise MedicineDate
2020Copyright
© Author(s) 2020
Introduction: Active commuting is an inexpensive and accessible form of physical activity and may be beneficial to health. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of active commuting and its subcomponents, cycling and walking, with cardiometabolic risk factors, physical fitness and body composition in young men.
Methods: Participants were 776 Finnish young (26±7 years), healthy adult men. Active commuting was measured with self-report. Waist circumference was measured and body mass index (BMI) calculated. Aerobic fitness was measured with bicycle ergometer and muscular fitness with maximal leg and bench press, sit-ups, push-ups and standing long jump. Cardiometabolic risk factors were analysed from blood samples and selected variables (glucose, insulin, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure) were further converted to z-score to form clustered cardiometabolic risk.
Results: A total of 24% used active commuting consisting of 10% of walkers and 14% of cyclists. After adjustments for age, smoking, time of year, leisure-time and occupational physical activities, cycling was inversely associated with the clustered cardiometabolic risk (β=−0.11, 95% CI −0.22 to −0.01), while walking was not (β=−0.04, 95% CI −0.16 to 0.08). However, further adjustment for waist circumference attenuated the associations to non-significant. Moreover, cycling but not walking was inversely associated with BMI, waist circumference and maximal strength, while a positive association was observed with aerobic fitness (p<0.05).
Conclusion: This study shows that cycling to work or study has beneficial associations to clustered cardiometabolic risk, body composition and aerobic fitness in young, healthy adult men.
...


Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group LtdISSN Search the Publication Forum
2055-7647Keywords
Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/35096093
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
- Liikuntatieteiden tiedekunta [2059]
Additional information about funding
This work was supported by The Scientific Advisory Board for Defence, Finland; National Defence Foundation, Finland and Support Foundation of the Finnish Defence Forces.License
Related items
Showing items with similar title or keywords.
-
Reduced muscle inactivity, sedentary time and cardio-metabolic benefits : effectiveness of a one-year family-based cluster randomized controlled trial
Pesola, Arto (University of Jyväskylä, 2016)A driving hypothesis of the evolving field of sedentary behavior is that frequent muscle activity short-circuits detrimental physiological effects of sedentary time. However, the field relies mostly on observational ... -
Associations of physical activity and physical fitness with cardiovascular risk factors in young men
Vaara, Jani (University of Jyväskylä, 2015) -
Cross-country skiing and running's association with cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality : A review of the evidence
Laukkanen, Jari A.; Kunutsor, Setor K.; Ozemek, Cemal; Mäkikallio, Timo; Lee, Duck-chul; Wisloff, Ulrik; Lavie, Carl J. (Elsevier Inc., 2020)A large body of evidence demonstrates positive, graded effects of PA on cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality with increasing intensity compared with lower PA intensity. Running is often designated as a ... -
Menopausal status and physical activity are independently associated with cardiovascular risk factors of healthy middle-aged women : cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence
Karvinen, Sira; Jergenson, Matthew J.; Hyvärinen, Matti; Aukee, Pauliina; Tammelin, Tuija; Sipilä, Sarianna; Kovanen, Vuokko; Kujala, Urho M.; Laakkonen, Eija K. (Frontiers Media, 2019)Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the primary cause of mortality in women in developed countries. CVD risk rises with age, yet for women there is a rapid increase in CVD risk that occurs after the onset of menopause. This ... -
Associations of physical activity in detailed intensity ranges with body composition and physical function : a cross-sectional study among sedentary older adults
Savikangas, Tiina; Tirkkonen, Anna; Alen, Markku; Rantanen, Taina; Fielding, Roger A.; Rantalainen, Timo; Sipilä, Sarianna (BioMed Central, 2020)Background Physical activity is crucial to maintain older adults’ health and functioning, but the health benefits of particular activity intensities remain unclear. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to peruse the ...