Even the shortest trips by bicycle boost heart health

Everyone understands cycling is good for you, but a study by UCL and Sydney University has found really small changes to our activity levels - like replacing sedentary behaviour with a just few minutes of riding each day - boosts heart health.

The findings are important because over 20 million people across the globe die each year from cardiovascular disease.

The research saw 15,000 people wear devices 24 hours a day to measure their daily activity and heart health.

As you might expect, moderate-to-vigorous activity provided the greatest benefit to heart health, followed by light activity and standing. By contrast, sedentary behaviour had an adverse impact.

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Dr Jo Blodgett, one of the authors of the study, said: “The big takeaway from our research is that while small changes to how you move can have a positive effect on heart health, intensity of movement matters. The most beneficial change we observed was replacing sitting with moderate to vigorous activity – which could be a run, a brisk walk, or stair climbing – basically any activity that raises your heart rate and makes you breathe faster, even for a minute or two.”

Although vigorous activity was found to be the quickest way to improve heart health, lower intensity activities worked too; they just needed to be done for longer.

James Leiper from the British Heart Foundation, which funded the research, said: “We already know that exercise can have real benefits for your cardiovascular health and this encouraging research shows that small adjustments to your daily routine could lower your chances of having a heart attack or stroke. This study shows that replacing even a few minutes of sitting with a few minutes of moderate activity can improve your BMI, cholesterol, waist size, and have many more physical benefits."

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