Energy balance
Active travel (walking or cycling for transport) provides modest health benefits, including reduced risks of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular mortality, but robust evidence for reducing obesity in adults is lacking.
Incorporate walking or cycling into your daily commute where possible. While this may not directly lead to significant weight loss in adults, it offers measurable benefits for heart health and diabetes prevention. Aim for at least 30 minutes of active travel per day to see reduced risks for chronic diseases.
Small positive effects on other health outcomes were found in five intervention studies, but these were all at risk of selection bias. Modest benefits for other health outcomes were identified in five prospective studies. There is suggestive evidence that active travel may have a positive effect on diabetes prevention... Active travel may have positive effects on health outcomes, but there is little robust evidence to date of the effectiveness of active transport interventions for reducing obesity.
Why this rating
The review includes prospective cohort studies and RCTs, but notes selection bias in interventions and conflicting results in cohorts.
Source
What Are the Health Benefits of Active Travel? A Systematic Review of Trials and Cohort Studies
Lucinda Saunders et al. · PLoS ONE · 2013
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0069912
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