Quantifying the physical activity energy expenditure of commuters using a combination of global positioning system and combined heart rate and movement sensors

Costa, Silvia, Ogilvie, David, Dalton, Alice, Westgate, Kate, Brage, Søren and Panter, Jenna (2015) Quantifying the physical activity energy expenditure of commuters using a combination of global positioning system and combined heart rate and movement sensors. Preventive Medicine, 81. pp. 339-344. ISSN 0091-7435

Preview

PDF (Manuscript) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (310kB) | Preview

Abstract

Active commuting may help to increase adults' physical activity levels. However, estimates of its energy cost are derived from a small number of studies which are laboratory-based or use self-reported measures. Adults working in Cambridge (UK) recruited through a predominantly workplace-based strategy wore combined heart rate and movement sensors and global positioning system (GPS) devices for one week, and completed synchronous day-by-day travel diaries in 2010 and 2011. Commuting journeys were delineated using GPS data, and metabolic intensity (standard metabolic equivalents; MET) was derived and compared between journey types using mixed-effects linear regression. 182 commuting journeys were included in the analysis. Median intensity was 1.28 MET for car journeys; 1.67 MET for bus journeys; 4.61 MET for walking journeys; 6.44 MET for cycling journeys; 1.78 MET for journeys made by car in combination with walking; and 2.21 MET for journeys made by car in combination with cycling. The value for journeys made solely by car was significantly lower than those for all other journey types (p<0.04). On average, 20% of the duration of journeys incorporating any active travel (equating to 8 minutes) was spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). We have demonstrated how GPS and activity data from a free-living sample can be used simultaneously to provide objective estimates of commuting energy expenditure. On average, incorporating walking or cycling into longer journeys provided over half the weekly recommended activity levels from the commute alone. This may be an efficient way of achieving physical activity guidelines and improving population health.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Uncontrolled Keywords:	active commuting,cycling,exercise,gps,geographical information systems,transportation,walking
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Services and Primary Care Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Public Health and Health Services Research (former - to 2023) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	13 Nov 2015 14:00
Last Modified:	06 Jun 2024 14:52
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/55193
DOI:	10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.09.022

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item