Looking to cut down on high blood pressure and curb your risk of diabetes? Then ditch the car, slap those trainers on and make the walk to work, because a new study says that those who walk are about 40 percent less likely to have diabetes than those who drive.
Using data from a survey of 20,000 people across the UK, researchers at Imperial College London and University College London found that cycling, walking and using public transport have their health benefits.
Those who walked to work were far less likely to have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes than drivers and had a 17 per cent lower risk of high blood pressure.
‘People who take public transport to work are also less likely to be obese, and less likely to be overweight than people who are using their car and other inactive forms of getting to work,’ said Dr Anthony Laverty from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London.
While public transport is the healthier option over driving, Laverty says that taking it a step further and either just cycling or walking to work have even more benefits. ‘People who cycle or walk to work are less likely to have high blood pressure and diabetes.
‘So we know that there are some basic benefits of using public transport, as we know that can increase how physically active you are, and there are some added benefits of these more active forms, like walking and cycling to work.’
The study found 19 per cent of working-age adults who use transport such as cars, motorbikes or taxis to get to work were obese, as opposed to the 15 per cent of those who walk and 13 per cent of those who cycle.
You can up your game on your walking style too. ‘When people walk they walk wrong because their joints are out of alignment and you lose the ability to build muscle from walking,’ said Joanna Hall, author of the Walkactive Programme in which she covers the best way to maximize walking and get the best fat burn per step, build strength around the joints and tone up.
Want to learn how to maximize your walking route to work? Check out Super-trainer Joanna Hall’s new book Walkactive Programme (£13.99 at Amazon.co.uk) which features Hall’s walking programme specifically designed to build strength, muscle and tone in the core, hamstrings, quadriceps and upper body. Joanna also runs Walkfirm courses throughout the country in which you can learn to build muscle and tone while walking (you don’t need ankle or hand weights, it’s all in Joanna’s patented walking technique). See joannahall.com.
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