Keywords
Active commuting; Sedentary behavior; Cardiorespiratory fitness; Multilevel modeling.
Abstract
Background : Active commuting is a practical way to increase Physical Activity (PA). E-cycling elicits Moderate-To-Vigorous Intensity PA (MVPA) with experimental health benefits. Less is known about real-life commuter e-cycling impact on changes in MVPA, total sedentary time (SED-time), fitness and perceived health.
Methods : 33 subjects (min-max: 27-70 years) imminently starting commuter e-cycling were monitored for 3 to 5 months. Declarative measurements in MVPA and SED-time were analyzed by multilevel modeling. Fitness (stress test and adiposity), SF12-v2 and EMAPS scores were pre-post compared.
Results : High and stable adherence to commuter e-cycling averaged 84% (95%CI, 75-91). Mean MVPA increased and plateaued after e-cycling onset, reaching 56.7 MET-h/week (95%CI 49.9-64.3) (+21 MET-h/week over baseline). Larger increases were associated with age and e-cycling volume. High SED-time persisted over time, averaging 8.6 hours/day (95%CI, 8.1-9.) though decreasing for older and initially most sedentary subjects. Cardiorespiratory fitness improved (+0.48 METs, p=0.001) as well as effort perception, heart-rate response, waist-to-height ratio and SF12-v2 Mental Score.
Conclusions : New commuter e-cyclists experience a major increase in MVPA and a persistent high sedentary behavior, associated with benefits in fitness, adiposity and perceived mental health. Results from this pilot study need to be confirmed in larger cohorts overtime.
Citation
Chabanas B, Thivel D, Duclos M (2025) Longitudinal Link be tween E-Bike Commuting and Total Physical Activity Increase. SM J Biol 4: 9.