Walking and Cycling Reduce the Risk of Diabetes by 40 Percent: Study

A latest finding reveals that those who walk to work are more likely to reduce the risk of diabetes than those who drive to their workplace. 

A latest study conducted by researchers at Imperial College and University College in London says that people who prefer to walk to their workplace are 40 percent less likely to have diabetes compared to those who walk, drive or take a taxi.

The study was based on a survey 20,000 people across the U.K. who were questioned on their physical activities.

The researchers noticed that those people who preferred cycling, walking and using public transport were linked with lower risk of obesity when compared to driving or taking a taxi. They also revealed that people who walked to work were 17 percent less likely to suffer from high blood pressure when compared to those who drove. Cyclists were 50 percent less likely to suffer from diabetes compared to drivers.

Currently, in the U.S. and U.K, diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure are the leading causes of death.

The researchers suggest that people can reduce the risk of chronic heart problems by avoiding cars and choosing to head to their workplace on foot or cycling.

"This study highlights that building physical activity into the daily routine by walking, cycling or using public transport to get to work is good for personal health ," said Anthony Laverty, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College, London.

The study revealed that 19 percent of the working adults who use private transport to head to work were obese and only 15 percent of the people walked to office and 13 percent of them cycled to office.

"The variations between regions suggest that infrastructure and investment in public transport, walking and cycling can play a large role in encouraging healthy lives, and that encouraging people out of the car can be good for them as well as the environment," Laverty concluded.

The study was published in the Journal of Preventive Medicine.