It is an ever-present topic and most cyclists, in addition to pedaling for pleasure, ride to keep their body weight under control.  Many cyclists follow grueling training regimes that are effective and rewarding, but there is another very important way to achieve weight loss on the bike minus the dedicated training; bike commuting.

The bicycle is a means of transport and if used as a substitute to driving, even short distances, it can be great to help us keep weight under control.

A 2015 study carried out on 4,000 people showed that replacing our motor vehicle with the bicycle to go to work for just 30 minutes per day can help people lose up to an average of 7kg of weight in a year.

It seems a lot, but then let's do the maths.  Cycling at low intensity in normal conditions means traveling on average at about 15-20 km per hour which means (for those who live and work in the city for example) being able to reach the workplace by doing low intensity physical activity.  The numbers demonstrate that by using the bicycle at low intensity for 30 minutes a day to get to work for 5 days a week means a kilojoule consumption ranging from 188000 to 225000 kj per year.  That is equal to burning from 5kg to 6kg.

So if you’re weighing up the benefits of commuting by bike, if the environmental benefits aren’t enough, perhaps this will “weigh” in on your decision.