Have you ever heard any doctor send anyone home with : 'Get yourself a bike, ride it one hour every morning at moderate speed and come and see me 2-4 weeks later' ? After all, even if cyclism can be somewhat addictive, hasn't it less side effects that statins ?...
Certainly any cyclist answering these sort of questions would be biased. With that in mind, here is what I found out so far.
Positive effects include feel and look younger. But also :
- Live 10 more years from 45 min. of cycling per week (by lower risk of cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes, all types of cancer, high blood pressure and obesity).
- 39% overall reduced risk of dying by cycling to work.
- 50% less heart disease risks from 40 km cycling per week.
- 50% less bowel cancer risk.
- 50% less yearly sick days.
- 30% less impotence risks from 50 years old, with 3 hours of cycling per week.
- Loosing excess weight
- Lower stress / better mood.
- Lower resting heart rate.
- Reduced Alzheimer's risk.
- Reducing musculoskeletal pain for older adults.
- Improve endurance/stamina.
- Improve flexibility
- Improve coordination
- Improve interpersonal performance
- Improve self esteem
- Increases leg strength and bone density (which offsets osteoporosis)
- Increased productivity.
What about the risks ?
Road safety is clearly the biggest concern for cyclist. Here are some contrasting numbers. For 1 cycling death, based on UK stats, there was:
5x more Fire related death
30 x more Road User death
250 x more Cancer due to inactivity
500x more CHD casualty due to inactivity.
Still sceptic, or need more detailed statistics ? Please read more in those really well documented references.
1. Cycling and Health, What's the Evidence (www.cyclingengland.co.uk)
2. 30 Reasons To Take Up Cyclism. (bikeradar.com)
3. Do Cyclists (And Perhaps Triathletes) Live Longer? (endurancecorner.com)
Convinced now ?
Great article, I feel better about myself already!
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, there's so many reasons to cycle, especially for older people like me. Lots of people try jogging, swimming, the gym and so on and end up discouraged, injured or bored.
But for an older person it's so important to get your exercise, for all of these reasons, and cycling is the perfect way to do it.
Low impact, easy exercise. Fun, social, for me cycling has it all.