Mass transit, a healthier commute to work

You may want to start taking the bus or riding the train to your work as a new study has suggested that taking public transportation instead of driving may be a fast-track to better health.

Riding the bus or train to work is associated with a lower risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and being overweight, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2015.

While it's already established that a physically active lifestyle helps reduce the likelihood of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, it is unclear whether these risk factors for heart disease and stroke are affected by how you get to work.

A Japanese study compared bus/train commuters, walkers/bikers and drivers and adjusted for other factors such as age, gender, smoking, and others. Compared to drivers, public transportation users were:

Interestingly, the bus/train commuters had even lower rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and overweight than the walkers or bikers. The researchers suggested that one explanation could be that these commuters actually walked farther to and from the train or bus station than walkers or bikers traveled to and from work.

Lead study author Hisako Tsuji said "People should consider taking public transportation instead of a car, as a part of daily, regular exercise. It may be useful for healthcare providers to ask patients about how they commute.