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Active commuting has the potential to decrease cardiovascular risk by increasing physical activity. We aimed to investigate the effects of active commuting to work for 12 months on body composition and cardiovascular risk factors. Therefore, 73 hospital employees (age: 46 ± 9 years, 36% males), with a predominantly passive way of commuting, were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG) and a control group (CG) in a 2:1 fashion. The IG was further divided into a public transportation plus active commuting group (IG‐PT) and a cycling group (IG‐C). Both IGs were prompted to reach 150 min/wk of moderate intensity exercise. Daily self‐reported commuting details were verified by GPS tracking. All subjects underwent assessment of body composition, resting blood pressure, glycemic control, and lipid profile at the beginning and end of the study. Data for final analyses were available in 62 subjects. Commuting details indicated that the subjects randomized to IG changed their commuting habits. HbA1c decreased by 0.2% [95%CI: −0.3, −0.2] in IG‐PT but was not statistically different between groups (P =.06). LDL cholesterol decreased in IG‐C by 0.8 mmol/L [−1.1, −0.4] and by 0.6 mmol/L [−1.2, 0.1] in IG‐PT which can be considered biologically relevant but did not yield statistical significance. Body composition and blood pressure did not differ between groups. Active commuting to work for 12 months did not change body composition but yielded relevant changes in lipid profile and glycemic control. Health benefits of active commuting should be addressed by healthcare professionals when counseling individuals that seek to improve their cardiovascular risk profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sedentary lifestyle is a major modifiable risk factor for many chronic diseases. Lifestyle modification in order to increase exercise capacity is key in the prevention and rehabilitation of chronic diseases. This could be achieved by active commute. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of daily active commuting on physical activity (PA) and exercise capacity. Seventy‐three healthy hospital employees (age: 46 ± 9 years, 38% male), with a predominantly passive way of commuting, were randomly assigned to two parallel groups, a control group (CG, N = 22) or an intervention group (IG, N = 51), which was further split into public transportation/active commuting (IG‐PT, N = 25) and cycling (IG‐C, N = 26). Both intervention groups were asked to reach 150 min/wk of moderate‐ to vigorous‐intensity exercise during their commute for 1 year. CG maintained a passive commuting mode. All participants underwent assessment of anthropometry, risk factor stratification, and exercise capacity by a medical doctor at the Institute of Sports Medicine, Prevention and Rehabilitation. Weekly physical activity, using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and commuting behavior, using an online diary, were used to assess physical activity. At the end of the study, the change in exercise capacity did significantly differ between IG and CG (P =.003, ES = 0.82). Actively covered distances through commuting significantly differed between groups (walking P =.026; cycling P <.001). Therefore, active commuting improves exercise capacity and can be recommended to the working population to increase exercise capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased physical activity is associated with numerous health benefits. This study investigated the effect of active commuting (walking and cycling to work) on health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) and absence days from work due to sickness in healthy working adults. In total, 73 participants (age: 46 ± 9 years), all working at a tertiary university hospital in Salzburg, Austria, were randomized into an intervention group (IG, n = 51) and a control group (CG, n = 22). The IG was asked to commute actively for twelve months, whereas the CG did not have to change their usual commuting behavior. IG was divided into two subgroups: IG‐C (cycling, n = 26) was asked to commute by bicycle and IG‐PT (public transport, n = 25) partially using public transportation and walked the remaining distance to work. Significant positive changes in IG were observed in four subcomponents of the SF‐36 (physical functioning (95 [10] to 100 [8.8], P =.023), mental health (82 [15] to 86 [15], P =.036), vitality (65 [20] to 70 [14], P =.005), and general health (70 [19] to 80 [24], P =.004)) as well as the physical component summary score (56.5 [9] to 59.2 [6.3], P =.002). IG‐C showed greater and more statistically significant changes regarding HRQoL compared to IG‐PT. Associations between active commuting and sick‐leave days were only observed in IG‐PT (7.5 [14.8] to 4.0 [11.3] days, P =.038). In conclusion, active commuting improves various components of HRQoL and might therefore be a possible strategy to increase quality of life in the workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]