If you live in a city and your work is near by, you could have thought about walking to work. The advantage of this is that it’s better for fitness levels overall.

According to the first large U.S. Study of health and commuting, very few of us really do it – in fact just below 17% of working adults surveyed biked or walked for any part of their commute.

Earlier research has revealed that states with the highest levels of walking or biking have lower obesity levels as well .

But studies on how these activities might affect Americans has been pretty infrequent, till this cross-sectional study. This latest work appears in the July 13, 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Of the study partakers, 192 ( 18% ) of the men, 203 ( 16% ) of the ladies were categorized as active commuters. The average length of the physical part of their daily trip for the bikers and walkers was five miles. The majority of the subjects walked, instead of biked, to work.

The study revealed that active commuters did better on treadmill tests of fitness, even if they accounted for any other physical activities subjects did in their own time.

The findings here suggest that the activity of traveling to work can have an impact on overall fitness.

The participators, more than 2,300 city-dwellers in their middle age were indulging in a federally financed study known as Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults ( CARDIA ).

For men, but not women, researchers discovered that the commuters who walked or biked had better BMI numbers, blood pressure, insulin and triglycerides.

The researchers explain these by suggesting that the ladies in the study walked or biked lesser distances to the office, or were less powerful in their workouts.

Of course there’s also the issue of which came first, are already active folk more sure to be active commuters as well , or is the walk ( or bike ) to work planting the seed for being more active in other areas of life as well?

Being an active commuter might not be easy.

Beyond the challenge of getting to work sweat-covered and panting, an active commute is often bound by crumbling sidewalks, few bike trails and real fears about safety.

Zoning in many U.S. Cities keeps commercial and residential areas separate, and this makes commutes longer and being active along the path virtually impossible.

Towns that build bike paths have higher rates of biking, as do places of employment that have on-site showers, areas to change and a safe place to keep your bicycle during the day.

The benefits of active commuting go beyond your health and the pluses to the environment to incorporate :

- reliable, predictable means to get to and from work, or a point on the way

- works for businesses by inspiring health as well as company responsibility

- reduces stress and improves productiveness of the commuters

More research is wanted to find the quantity of active commuting that may benefit your fitness, but this health friendly way to get from home to work is certainly going to get more attention over the coming years as it would seem to be better for fitness levels overall.

Next – just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for information why you should ride your bike to work. Click here for more details on study and more reasons to ride your bike to work.