(Image source from: unibas.ch)

According to a report by researchers, the role of the e-bike in boosting health and fitness is comparable to that of a conventional bicycle. The research report was made by researchers at the University of Basel in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine.

In peculiar, overweight and untrained individuals can benefit from riding an e-bike.

The pilot study's opening point was the Bike to Work campaign, which has been moving in Switzerland for past ten years now and each year invites commuters to switch to their bicycles or e-bikes for a time period of a month.

Nearly 65,000 cyclists took part this year.

Research findings

The Department of Sport, Exercise, and Health at the University of Basel's research group has examined how the exercise intensity on e-bikes compares to conventional bicycles.

Health benefits

They conclude that e-bike training is by no way to a lesser extent effective, yet has comparable health benefits as regular bicycling. Moreover, the research group found that even after a relatively short training period of four weeks betterment in cardiorespiratory fitness was achieved.

Gain motivation

The study shows that e-bike group participants were on average traveling at higher speeds and showed higher daily elevation gain. "This indicates that the e-bike can increase motivation and help overweight and older individuals to maintain fitness training on a regular basis," comments Arno Schmidt-Trucksass, Professor of Sports Medicine at the University of Basel on the study results.

Permanent benefits

"Those who use e-bikes on a regular basis benefit permanently, not only in terms of their fitness, but also in terms of other factors such as blood pressure, fat metabolism, and overall mental well-being." Overall, he suggests that the study provides an important indication of the preventive potential of e-bikes.

By Sowmya Sangam