About the Site Email Newsletter Links to Cycling Organisations
Bicycle and Public Transport Bicycle Network Planning Bicycle Strategies & Plans Bike Share Programs Cycling Data End of Trip Facilities Facility Design / Engineering Land Use Planning Mobility Management
Cycling Skills: Information for Riders Cycling Skills: Programs and Resources Organisations Professional Development Research
Awards and Recognition Behaviour Change Programs Economic Benefits of Cycling Environmental Benefits of Cycling Health Benefits of Cycling Maps Marketing Ride to School Ride to Shops Ride to Work Social Benefits of Cycling Women in Cycling
Bicycle Regulations Overviews Solutions Statistics & Common Crashes
Cycle Tourism: Promotion Cycle Tourism: Strategies Organisations Recreation: BMX Facilities Recreation: Off Road Facilities and Trails Recreation: Publications and Resources Recreation: Strategies Recreation: Trail and Facility Design Research
International Local Government National Government State & Territory Government
Cycling Innovations Encouragement & Promotion Enforcement & Road Safety Engineering & Planning Funding

Search

Font Decrease Font Normal Font Increase Print

Cycling intensity is more important than duration to heart health (Denmark)

This research, by Denamrk's Copenhagen City Heart Study, indicates that the relativie intensity and not the duration of cycling is of more importance to heart health. The findings were released in the European Heart Journal and the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention in 2011. The authors recommend that brisk cycling is preferable to slow.

Current recommendations prescribe that every adult should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate physical activity in leisure time, preferably every day of the week. The optimal intensity, duration, and frequency still have to be established. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of intensity versus duration of cycling on all-cause and coronary heart disease mortality.

Relative intensity and duration of cycling were recorded in 5106 apparently healthy men and women aged 21–90 years drawn from the general population of Copenhagen, and followed for an average of 18 years. Total number of deaths during follow-up was 1172, of these 146 were coronary heart disease deaths. For both sexes we found a significant inverse association between cycling intensity and risk of all-cause and coronary heart disease death, but only a weak association with cycling duration. The difference in expected lifetime in relation to intensity of cycling was calculated. Men with fast intensity cycling survived 5.3 years longer, and men with average intensity 2.9 years longer than men with slow cycling intensity. For women the figures were 3.9 and 2.2 years longer, respectively.

The findings indicate that the relative intensity, and not the duration of cycling, is of more importance in relation to all-cause and coronary heart disease mortality. Thus our general recommendations to all adults would be that brisk cycling is preferable to slow.

European Heart Journal Abstract

European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention Abstract

Article: Cycling to work can add five years to your life... but only if you pedal hard (and avoid crashing)