ArticleThe Lancet. Public health2016
Change in commute mode and body-mass index: prospective, longitudinal evidence from UK Biobank.
Article in The Lancet. Public health, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 48 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 136 citations in OpenAlex.
- Protective Effect on Mortality of Active Commuting to Work: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Pooled it
- Associations of Public Transportation Use With Cardiometabolic Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.American journal of epidemiology · 2019Pooled it
- Effects of active commuting to work for 12 months on cardiovascular risk factors and body composition.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2020Trial
- Spinal pain and associated factors among young motorcyclists a cross-sectional study with mediating analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The effect of a School Street intervention on children's active travel, satisfaction with their street, and perception of road safety: a natural experimental evaluation.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Active Commuting as a Factor of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2024Review
- Adipose Tissue Dysfunction Related to Climate Change and Air Pollution: Understanding the Metabolic Consequences.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Toward Heart-Healthy and Sustainable Cities: A Policy Statement From the American Heart Association.Circulation · 2024Review
- Walking to work: The role of walkability around the workplace in a Dutch adult commuting population.SSM - population health · 2024Article
- Impact of changes in commuting mode on body weight among Japanese workers: a longitudinal study.Journal of occupational health · 2024Article
- Impact of cycling and walking on adiposity and healthcare costs among adults: longitudinal study.Cadernos de saude publica · 2024Article
- Where Was Climate Change at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health?American journal of public health · 2023Article
- The Weight of Place: Built Environment Correlates of Obesity and Diabetes.Endocrine reviews · 2022Review
- Active commuting, commuting modes and the risk of diabetes: 14-year follow-up data from the Hisayama study.Journal of diabetes investigation · 2022Article
- How Can We Act to Mitigate the Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change?Current obesity reports · 2022Review
- Physical Activity Behavior, Motivation and Active Commuting: Relationships with the Use of Green Spaces in Italy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Green Walkability and Physical Activity in UK Biobank: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Adults in Greater London.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- A foresight whole systems obesity classification for the English UK biobank cohort.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Holistic approach to assess the association between the synergistic effect of physical activity, exposure to greenspace, and fruits and vegetable intake on health and wellbeing: Cross-sectional analysis of UK Biobank.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Perspectives on exercise intensity, volume, step characteristics and health outcomes in walking for transport.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInsufficient physical activity is a determinant of obesity and cardiovascular disease. Active travel to work has declined in high-income countries in recent decades. We aimed to determine which socioeconomic and demographic characteristics predicted switching to or from active commuting, whether switching from passive to active commuting (or the reverse) independently predicts change in objectively measured body-mass index (BMI), and to ascertain whether any association is attenuated by socioeconomic, demographic, or behavioural factors.
methodsThis study used longitudinal data from UK Biobank. Baseline data collection occurred at 22 centres between March, 2006, and July, 2010, with a repeat assessment at one centre (Stockport) between August, 2012, and June, 2013, for a subset of these participants. Height and weight were objectively measured at both timepoints. We included individuals present at both timepoints with complete data in the analytic sample. Participants were aged 40-69 years and commuted from home to a workplace on a regular basis at both baseline and follow-up. Two exposures were investigated: transition from car commuting to active or public transport commuting and transition from active or public transport to car commuting. Change in BMI between baseline and repeat assessment was the outcome of interest, assessed with bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models.
findings502 656 individuals provided baseline data, with 20 346 participating in the repeat assessment after a median of 4·4 years (IQR 3·7-4·9). 5861 individuals were present at both timepoints and had complete data for all analytic variables. Individuals who transitioned from car commuting at baseline to active or public transportation modes at follow-up had a decrease in BMI of -0·30 kg/m
interpretationIncorporation of increased levels of physical activity as part of the commute to work could reduce obesity among middle-aged adults in the UK.
fundingUK Medical Research Council.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.