Why Walk to Work?

If you walk, ride a bike or take public transportation to work, you’re less likely to be overweight compared to people who drive to work or take a taxi. You’re also 17 percent less likely to have high blood pressure. And walkers are 40 percent less likely to have diabetes. These findings come from a British survey of 20,000 people across the UK. Researchers at Imperial College London and University College London determined that 19 percent of working age adults who drove, taxied or rode a motorbike to work were obese compared to 15 percent of those who walked and 13 percent of those who rode their bikes. The survey showed that cyclists were about half as likely to have diabetes as drivers, and that transport to work varied widely with location within the UK. For example, in London 52 percent of those surveyed used public transportation, while only five percent did in Northern Ireland.