Commuters who drive to work weigh more: study

London – People who commute to work by walking, biking or taking public transportation weigh less than those who commute by car or motorcycle, according to a new study.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University College London looked at body mass index – a measure of body fat using weight and height – in more than 7,500 participants and body fat percentage in nearly 7,500 in the United Kingdom.

Men who walked, biked or took public transportation such as a bus or train had BMI scores about 1 point and body fat 1.4 to 1.5 percentage points lower than men who drove to work. That translated to a weight difference of about 6.6 pounds for the average man.

Women who walked, biked or took public transportation to work had BMI scores 0.7 to 0.9 points and body fat 1.4 to nearly 2.0 percentage points lower than women who drove to work. That equaled a weight difference of about 5.5 pounds.

The study was published online Aug. 19 in BMJ.