health benefits of cycling

5 Major Health Benefits of Cycling on Overweight Female

Cycling is the only commuting way that does not harm the environment, benefits the riders in many ways, and is highly cost-effective. There is no other vehicle in the world that can make a route in almost every situation, be it in a jungle, or in a mountain area.

Nevertheless, in the US, only 2% of the overall commuting are made by cycling wherein the Netherlands 27% of all the trips are done with bicycles. In Germany, 12% of all the trips are made by bikes. But do you know how much of the cycling participation are made by women? Here is the surprising thing. Check out the following table.

Country % of Commuting by Bicycles Women’s Participation
US 2% 33%
Netherlands 27% 55%
Germany 12% 49%

If I explain the above data in layman language, it will be like: in the US, women are riding bicycles far less when compared with the cycling habits of men in the US. Check out the statistics carefully. You will find that in the Netherlands and Germany, about 50% of the bicycle commuting are made by women. But in the US, 30-33% of bike commuting are done by women.

My main focus of this article ‘Health Benefits of Cycling’ is to make a list of cycling benefits on women especially if the woman is overweight. I know that this list of benefits will not increase women’s participation in cycling drastically, but it can grow some interest among women.

So, let’s start:

Benefit 1: Cycling keeps away several diseases

All over the world, physical inactivity has become a common scenario. We live in a remote-control world. Browsing idly Facebook or other social media are seen everywhere. According to the British Heart Foundation, an adult should go through at least 2.5 hours of medium or high-intensity physical activities every week.

Another study finds that women are less physically inactive when compared with the men’s day to day physical activity and around 27% of adult women in the United Kingdom were obese in the year 2015. The consequences of less physical activity are life-threatening diseases like cancer, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes, blood sugar up-downs.

Commuting to the workplace and supermarket by bike, or making a routine cycle riding along a riverside road can keep yourself away from those above-mentioned diseases.

So, cycling not only keep an overweight woman fit and relaxed, but it also reduces the risk of having those life-threatening diseases.

Benefit 2: Reduces the risk of having osteoarthritis and obesity

Reduces the risk of having osteoarthritis and obesity

Women have three times of risk of having arthritis when compared with men. The most common arthritis, women has the risk of having is osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis happens when a woman gains over-weight after their age 45 or above.

If you are searching for some good bikes for overweight women, here are some recommendations for you.

Regular cycling can reduce the risk of having osteoarthritis by reducing the extra weight. The study says, in a steady one-hour cycling session, a rider burns about 300 calories. The best benefit of cycling is: it is a low impact exercise category. So, people of any age or any condition can do cycling.

Cycling does not put extreme pressure on the joints. The best benefit of cycling is: it preserves the cartilage. If you are a woman and you are suffering from any of the following diseases, regular cycling will give you the relaxation and cure:

  • Any foot-related problems
  • Strain on muscles
  • Troubles with your knees
  • Back pain (a common problem with c-section patients)

Another thing is: if you’re not easy with regular cycling, you can go for indoor cycling. Indoor-cycling gives you the opportunity of conducting your exercise even at extreme weather condition.

Benefit 3: Women are different and cycling gets rid of many common female concerns

Women are different and cycling gets rid of many common female concerns

Women are different in many ways when compared to men. They have menstrual periods every month and they go through multiple pregnancy periods in their lifetime. After a certain age, they face menopause. So, their physical aspects and psychological ups and downs are totally different from men. To cope with the side-effects of these common female conditions, regular cycling can be a great help. Cycling can be easily fitted into one woman’s daily life.

Benefit 4: Cycling makes life less stressed and improves mental health

Again, a disappointing fact for women ☹. Women are more likely to have mental health-related problems when compared with men’s mental health-related problems.

Did you see this video of Mark Gungor? He is one of the most famous personalities in the US who talks about marriage and family. Check out this video. You will find why men and women think differently.

Regular cycling, either on-road or off-road, can benefit women in many ways. Breathing fresh air, gathering confidence, feeling pride, site viewing, enjoying life – all these can happen with bicycle riding, without spending a penny.

Bike riding gives a woman some “own-time”, making themselves free from all the boring domestic duties. Cycling increases the adrenalin and endorphins that give the rider a fun and enjoyable time at the time of riding.

Benefit 5: Cycling will improve rider’s social life

I started this article with the common scenario of our nowadays life. Remote control and social media life. Rather than poking your friend at his/her home, we now poke them on Facebook or any other social media. If you cycle regularly, you will find yourself in a group of cyclists. You will find a group of friends with a common interest in cycling. You will meet your neighbor in real-time, not in a virtual world. This will drastically improve your social life. Maybe someday you will find that you are also involved in some real social works.

Conclusion

I have mentioned here the most 5 important cycling benefits for women, especially on overweight-women. But I think there are more of them. Can you let us know how cycling has improved your day to day life? Please provide your input in the comment box.

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