Sammanfattning
Background. The purpose of the study was to assess whether people could be motivated in a simple way to cycle regularly to and from work during one year, and to assess whether this could lead to any health-related physiological benefits.
Material and methods. 25 persons who cycled to and from work during one year were included in the study. Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) and body mass index (BMI) were measured at baseline, after six months and after one year. Total-cholesterol (TC) and HDL-cholesterol (HDL) were measured at the start and the end of the project.
Results. During the study VO2max increased with 15.8 %; from 32.5 (8.1: SD) to 37.1 (7.6) ml · kg-1 · min-1 (p < 0.001). HDL-cholesterol increased with 15.3 %; from 1.31 (0.31) to 1.51 (0.40) mmol · l-1 (p < 0.001). No changes were recorded for BMI. The numbers of cycling sessions were greatly reduced during the winter months because of poor cycling conditions.
Interpretation. This study shows that cycling to and from work may positively affect physiological variables and thereby have a beneficial health effect.