Public transportation vs driving: study shows former linked to better health but which do you prefer? [POLL]

A study by researchers from the Moriguchi City Health Examination Center in Japan found that it's healthier to commute on the way to work via the train or bus than driving to work daily. Their findings were presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2015 in Florida.

According to lead study author Dr. Hisako Tsuji, director of the center, and colleagues, commuting can help reduce the risk of diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure, Medical News Today reports.

For their study, they looked at the health information of nearly 6,000 Japanese workers ages 49 to 54 years old taken from their 2012 health examinations. The participants were disseminated into three groups, those who walked or cycled to work, those who commute and those who drive to work.

They found that the public transportation group had a 44 percent decreased risk of being overweight, 34 percent less likely to have Type 2 diabetes and have a 27 percent unlikeliness of developing blood pressure. According to Medical Daily, it was believed that those who commute to work may walk farther and more frequently than the other groups.

"If it takes longer than 20 minutes one-way to commute by walking or cycling, many people seem to take public transportation or a car in urban areas," said Dr. Tsuji, in a press release published in the American Heart Association. "People should consider taking public  transportation instead of a car, as a part of daily, regular exercise. It may be useful for healthcare providers to ask patients about how they commute."

However, Dr. Tsuji and colleagues say that there are limitations to the study as it only applies to Japanese workers. According to a release published in EurekAlert, Japanese people "are less likely to be overweight than Americans."

"Physical activity may be more effective at reducing diabetes among this population than it is among a Western population," Dr. Tsuji said.

MNT states that it may be possible that those who take the bus or train to work were already healthier than the other groups who cycled or drove to work. Their lifestyle may have afforded them to have already lowered chances of developing diabetes, high blood pressure or being overweight. Still, the team says that further research should be done.