LONDON: Cycling can reduce the risk of early death by 47%, new research has found.
According to research published in BMJ Public Health by British researchers, cyclists have a 47% lower risk of premature death than other people.
Cyclists also have a 10 percent lower risk of being hospitalized for any reason than people who use a bus, car or train for their daily commute, the study said.
Cycling reduces the risk of dying from cancer by 51%, the risk of heart disease by 24% and the risk of mental health problems by 20%.
For the study, the activities of more than 82,000 UK residents aged between 16 and 74 at the start of the study were monitored for 18 years.
The people involved in the study talked about their primary means of transportation that they usually used to get to and from work.
It is worth noting that the majority of pedestrian commuters included women who work in shifts and commute short distances to school or work in the city.
Most of the cyclists were male shift workers who lived in the city but did not own residential property there.
Interestingly, cyclists are at twice the risk of road traffic accidents compared to car, bus or train passengers, which indicates the need for safer infrastructure for cyclists.
