Riding a bicycle is useful to health even in pollution

A study published Tuesday in France showed that riding a bike in a big city is good for health, despite the negative impact of air pollution and the potential exposure to accidents.

According to the study, published in the journal "Health Supervision Institute," a French authority on the field of public health that "the benefits of cycling for health is much greater than the risks associated with them."

In the framework of a European research program, I conducted the study, led by French researcher Audrey de Nasil, included the Barcelona region, which includes 3.2 million people.

The study evaluated the overall impact to reduce car trips on the health of the adoption of means of transport "active" more like a bike, walking and public transport.

The study analyzed several scenarios, in particular the impact of the municipality network for bicycles free service adoption as of 2007, some of the health problems of vascular diseases-heart attack and dementia and diabetes type II breast and colon cancer.

The study found that the network "has allowed through increased physical activity for individuals to avoid the death of 12 people a year in return for an annual rise of 0.03 in the number of deaths due to traffic accidents and 0.13 each year due to inhaling greater amounts of pollutants."

The study emphasized that biking and walking contribute to improving the living conditions of the citizens in general by reducing pollution levels.

The study showed that "bicycles free network service adoption in Barcelona led to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions estimated 9 thousand tons per year."