engleski

The impact of active transport on the cardiorespiratory fitness

Introduction Active transport refers to unassisted travel or non-motorised transportation as walking and cycling. Nowadays, sedentary jobs where employees perform their tasks in a sitting position are increasing. Public or passive transport is more often used in commuting to the workplace than active transport (walking or cycling). It is well known that sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and mortality due to insufficient physical activity and low cardiorespiratory fitness. Aim To review the published studies on the effect of active transport on the cardiorespiratory fitness. Material and Methods The bibliographic database Medline was searched using the keywords: " (active transport * OR transportation physical activity) AND cardiorespiratory fitness." Initial search yielded a total of 12 articles. The final analysis included 8 papers which aim was to study the effect of active transport on the cardiorespiratory fitness. Results The analysis of published studies showed that most papers described significant correlation of active transport and cardiovascular fitness in children, adolescents and adults. Møller et al. showed that after 8 weeks of active transport by bicycle, at self-selected intensity, VO2max levels and cardiorespiratory fitness significantly improved in the cycling group when compared to the control group. The results showed that physically inactive, but healthy people can significantly improve their cardiorespiratory fitness through relatively limited daily physical activity without the participation in high-intensity exercise training in fitness centers. Conclusion Previous studies have shown that active transport increases cardiorespiratory fitness. The use of bicycles, one of the means of active transport, showed significant correlation with increased cardiorespiratory fitness when compared to walking or passive modes of transport.

cardiorespiratory fitness, active transport, cycling, sedentary jobs

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