According to a Japanese research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2015, riding the bus or train to work is associated with a lower risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and being overweight.
It's because people who ride trains or bus commuters need to walk further than those who regularly walk or bike, not to mention those who drive to work.
"If it takes longer than 20 minutes one-way to commute by walking or cycling, many people seem to take public transportation or a auto in urban areas", said the study's lead author Dr. Hisako Tsuji, director of the Moriguchi City Health Examination Center, in a press release.
A survey conducted on about 6,000 adults who attended the Moriguchi City Health Examination Center filled out a questionnaire on physical activity and how they got to work. It compared bus and train commuters, walkers and bikers, and those who drive, adjusting for factors like age, gender and smoking status.
In comparison to people who drive to work every day, the folks taking public transportation were 44 percent less likely to be overweight, 34 percent less likely to have diabetes, and 27 percent less likely to have high blood pressure.
Likewise, the researchers say it is possible that the participants who used public transport to get to work were already healthier than those who used other methods. As such, they may have already had a lower risk of high blood pressure, overweight and diabetes.
So what if you have to suffer long queues just to get inside an MRT station? So what if you have to put up with all those dysfunctional MRT trains?
Your MRT woes could make you healthier after all.
Read more of the study at www.medicalnewstoday.com
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