Get this...
just five minutes a day on a bike can help a woman minimize her weight gain as she enters middle age according to new research.
This is especially true if you're already carrying more weight than you should.
And while there's been lots of work on the benefits to weight of daily walking, there have been few studies on cycling to lose weight, and not one has compared biking to walking.
The current study included more than 18,000 pre-menopausal female nurses between the ages of 25 and 42 who were followed for a total of 16 years, staring in 1989.
The authors looked at medical history, body weight patterns, exercise habits and lifestyle data for the subjects.
During the study, the participants gained an average of 20.
5 pounds each.
At the start of the research, half the subjects reported walking slowly; 39% said they walked briskly; 48% said they biked, including doing a workout on a stationary bike.
By 2005 the subjects had significantly decreased the amount of time they were active each day.
The team found that women who started biking (a great, non impact exercise) for just 5 minutes each day gained about 1.
5 fewer pounds over the course of the study than those who didn't bike.
Those who biked up to 30 minutes kept even more weight off, gaining about 3.
5 fewer pounds than those whose activities didn't include biking on a regular basis.
Some experts believe biking is one answer to controlling your weight.
Walking, unless it's truly brisk enough, isn't going to do it.
In fact, women who increased the time they spent at a brisk (3.
0 miles or more per hour) walk gained about 4 pounds less than those who didn't up their walking.
If they walked slowly, subjects didn't prevent the weight gain.
Subjects who were considered overweight or obese at the start of the study got far better results than normal weight women when they were more physically active.
An overweight woman who biked 30 minutes a day gained about 7 pounds less than those who didn't.
So while women of normal weight certainly get something from activities like biking or brisk walking, a woman who's carrying extra weight will really see a benefit in terms of her weight.
The take home message - don't give up on exercise, no matter what your weight or fitness level today.
Biking just two to three hours a week is all it takes to keep the weight at bay.
Biking is not expensive, and is easy for almost anyone, at any fitness level, to engage in.
What's more, if you make fitness and maintaining your weight a priority you'll find you do have the time to fit it into your daily routine.
After all, if you don't take care of yourself...
who will? The current guidelines for exercise from both the CDC and the American College of Sports Medicine call for adults to get at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise on most days of the week.
Many women in the study fell far below this.
The exercise regularly message has also likely been missed by the two thirds of American adults and 16% of children who are overweight or obese today.
Of course the U.
S.
is also basically a car-centric nation.
Our distances are so vast that walking or biking isn't always practical.
Only 9% of U.
S.
commuters walk to work, and just 0.
5% bike to the office.
In the Netherlands where the roads are more bike friendly, and the distances smaller, 22% of commuters walk to work, another 27% use pedal power to get there.
Even if you can't bike or walk to work, make an effort to get cycling (to lose weight) or brisk walking into your routine.
Don't worry about your heart rate...
your clothing or the distance you go.
Just do it.