PHYSICALLY ACTIVE COMMUTING TO WORK - TESTING ITS POTENTIAL FOR EXERCISE PROMOTION

Physical activity has considerable health-enhancing potential. It will be realized, however, only if large number of people participate in a dequate activity. This summary report describes the main results of fo ur studies aimed to find out whether physically active commuting to wo rk (PACW) meets the requirements of health and fitness enhancing activ ity. Three successive mail inquiries (N = 2014) indicated that PACW pr ovided habitual exercise to one-third of employed urban population, an d that more than one-fifth expressed willingness and being able to inc rease PACW. A randomized controlled trial on 68 inactive middle-aged m en and women revealed that PACW (1 h daily for 10 wk) increased VO2max by 4.5% (P = 0.02), maximal treadmill time by 10.3% (P = 0.0007), and HDL cholesterol by 5% (P = 0.06). A demonstration project in a large industrial plant showed that PACW can be successfully promoted by low cost measures. In conclusion, these studies suggest that PACW may offe r substantial potential as health and fitness enhancing measure provid ed that it can be practiced safely.