Background

In the fight against rising overweight and obesity levels, and unhealthy urban environments, the renaissance of active mobility (cycling and walking as a transport mode) is encouraging. Transport mode has been shown to be associated to body mass index (BMI), yet there is limited longitudinal evidence demonstrating causality. We aimed to associate transport mode and BMI cross-sectionally, but also prospectively in the first ever European-wide longitudinal study on transport and health.

Methods

Data were from the PASTA project that recruited adults in seven European cities (Antwerp, Barcelona, London, Oerebro, Rome, Vienna, Zurich) to complete a series of questionnaires on travel behavior, physical activity levels, and BMI. To assess the association between transport mode and BMI as well as change in BMI we performed crude and adjusted linear mixed-effects modeling for cross-sectional (n = 7380) and longitudinal (n = 2316) data, respectively.

Results

Cross-sectionally, BMI was 0.027 kg/m² (95%CI 0.015 to 0.040) higher per additional day of car use per month. Inversely, BMI was −0.010 kg/m² (95%CI −0.020 to −0.0002) lower per additional day of cycling per month. Changes in BMI were smaller in the longitudinal within-person assessment, however still statistically significant. BMI decreased in occasional (less than once per week) and non-cyclists who increased cycling (−0.303 kg/m², 95%CI −0.530 to −0.077), while frequent (at least once per week) cyclists who stopped cycling increased their BMI (0.417 kg/m², 95%CI 0.033 to 0.802).

Conclusions

Our analyses showed that people lower their BMI when starting or increasing cycling, demonstrating the health benefits of active mobility.

中文翻译：

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交通方式选择和体重指数：来自欧洲范围内研究的横断面和纵向证据

背景

在与不断上升的超重和肥胖水平以及不健康的城市环境作斗争时，主动出行（骑自行车和步行作为一种交通方式）的复兴令人鼓舞。运输方式已被证明与体重指数 (BMI) 相关，但纵向证据有限，证明了因果关系。我们旨在将交通方式和 BMI 横向联系起来，但也前瞻性地在欧洲范围内关于交通和健康的第一次纵向研究中进行关联。

方法

数据来自 PASTA 项目，该项目在七个欧洲城市（安特卫普、巴塞罗那、伦敦、厄勒布鲁、罗马、维也纳、苏黎世）招募成年人完成一系列关于旅行行为、身体活动水平和 BMI 的问卷调查。为了评估交通方式和 BMI 之间的关联以及 BMI 的变化，我们分别对横截面 (n = 7380) 和纵向 (n = 2316) 数据进行了粗略和调整的线性混合效应建模。

结果

横截面来看，每月每增加一天汽车使用，BMI 会增加 0.027 kg/m ^{2 (95%CI 0.015 至 0.040)。}相反，每月每多骑一天自行车，BMI 就会降低 -0.010 kg/m ^{2 (95%CI -0.020 到 -0.0002)。}在纵向个人评估中，BMI 的变化较小，但仍具有统计学意义。偶尔（每周少于一次）和非骑自行车者增加骑自行车（-0.303 kg/m ² , 95%CI -0.530 至 -0.077）的 BMI 降低，而停止骑自行车的频繁（至少每周一次）骑自行车者增加他们的 BMI (0.417 kg/m ² , 95%CI 0.033 to 0.802)。

结论

我们的分析表明，人们在开始或增加骑自行车时会降低他们的 BMI，这证明了主动移动对健康的益处。