Health Benefits

"Two thirds of men in Northern Ireland and half of all of women are overweight, with 17%of men and 20% of women clinically obese. Of particular concern are the worrying trends seen in children. Research by the Queens University and the University of Ulster, carried out as part of the Young Hearts Study, indicates that, among 12 and 15 year olds the percentage of children that are overweight or obese has increased by more than a quarter in the past decade."

Taken from the Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer 2004

How cycling can help...

By integrating cycling into your daily or weekly routine you can significantly improve your health. By cycling to work, or cycling during work, you can be active without using up your free time. Cycling can be great fun too, and is a nice way to spend a weekend morning or afternoon... There are a number of traffic-free cycle ways across the country that are suitable for cycling picnics or gentle bimbles. Click here to find somewhere to cycle

Cycling can reduce the risk of serious conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and the most common form of diabetes. One rough calculation suggests that new cyclists covering short distances can reduce their risk of death (mainly due to the reduction of heart disease) by as much as 22 per cent (Rutter H. Modal shift. Transport and health. A policy report on the health benefits of increasing levels of cycling in Oxfordshire)