Obesity, Physical Activity
Conditions
Brief summary
The effects of active commuting with an e-bike, as compared with a classic bike, on cardiorespiratory fitness and vascular health are largely unknown. To assess whether active commuting with an e-bike or a classic bike increases peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) in untrained and overweight individuals.
Detailed description
Riding an electrically assisted bicycle (e-bike) is thought to be suitable to increase physical activity in daily life, to promote health, and to increase cardiorespiratory fitness in normal-weight individuals. The positive effect of commuting to work by a normal bike on cardiorespiratory fitness has been shown to be an important predictor of cardiovascular mortality in previous studies. We thought to improve maximal oxygen uptake by commuting to work by e-bike vs. classic bike. Besides cardiorespiratory fitness we assessed arterial stiffness as brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity as an independent predictor of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALCommuting to work
Commuting by an electric assisted bike to work for a period of 4 weeks at least 3 times per week
Sponsors
University of Basel
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
body mass index 25-35 kg/m2, and willingness to commute to work by e-bike or by normal bike at least 3 times per week with a one-way distance of ≥ 6 km.
Exclusion criteria
cycling as a leisure-time activity, active commuting to work or exercise training more than once per week within 4 weeks before the start of the study, uncontrolled cardiovascular diseases limiting cardiorespiratory fitness, stage II arterial hypertension (systolic blood pressure \> 160 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure \> 95 mmHg), renal diseases, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (HbA1c \> 6.5%), or active malignancy or chemotherapy during the past 6 months.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| maximal oxygen uptake | 4 weeks | maximal oxygen uptake measured on a cycle ergometer with a ramp protocol |
Countries
Switzerland
Outcome results
None listed