Cycle to work scheme in the NHS

doi:10.1136/bmj.b1896

Published 12 May 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b1896
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1896

Letters

Health promotion

Cycle to work scheme in the NHS

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Byberg and colleagues’ study on mortality and physicalactivity convinces us of the importance of health promotion.¹Making the Department of Transport’s cycle to work schemeavailable to all NHS employees would yield enormous benefits.The scheme allows a tax exempt loan to purchase a bicycle andassociated equipment.

Cycling reduces the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure,obesity, and type 2 diabetes.² ³ ⁴ ⁵ New cyclists covering shortdistances can reduce their risk of death by as much as 22%,primarily owing to the reduction in heart disease.⁵ It can assistin weight loss, burning around 300 calories an hour.³ Thirtyminutes of cycling a day meets the government’s targeton exercise. Regular cycling also has a positive effect on mentalhealth.³ ⁵ The strength and coordination that regular cyclingbrings make injuries from falls less likely.⁵ Cycling is oneof the few physical activities that can be undertaken by most. . . [Full text of this article]

Christopher M Jack, specialist registrar in trauma and orthopaedics¹, Max Edwards, specialist registrar in trauma and orthopaedics¹, Mirant Parikh, associate specialist¹, Samuel Rajaratnam, consultant orthopaedic surgeon²

¹ Princess Royal University Hospital, Orpington, Kent BR6 8ND, ² Eastbourne District General Hospital, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN21 2UD

chrisjack@hotmail.com

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