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A recent study published in The BMJ finds that cycling or walking to work reduces the risk of death from all causes, when compared with non-active commuting. The biggest effect was seen in cyclists, so it might be time to get your bike back out of the garage.

Biking to work is more effective in protecting against cardiovascular disease than walking, according to the latest study.

It will come as no surprise that being more physically active has health benefits when compared with a more sedentary lifestyle.

It therefore follows that using a more active method of transport to get to work might also have health benefits. However, the exact size of the positive effect has been a subject of much debate.

Earlier research has faced criticisms. For instance, some studies failed to differentiate between walking and cycling to work, while others failed to properly adjust for confounding variables.

To help put this question to bed, a group of scientists from the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom set out to gather more detail in a large-scale study.

Specifically, they looked at the association between active commuting and cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and all-cause mortality.

Delving into data from the UK Biobank (a database of biological information from more than 500,000 U.K. adults), they used details from 264,377 participants, with an average age of 53.

Information about their daily commutes was collated - walking, cycling, non-active methods (such as driving or public transport), and mixed transport (for example, cycling to catch a train). These individuals were then followed-up for an average of 5 years. Hospital admissions and deaths were recorded.