Associations of public bicycle use with transport-related and leisure-time physical activity in Taiwanese adults

- Public bicycle use is associated with transport-related physical activity.
- Public bicycle use is associated with leisure-time physical activity.
- Encouraging public bicycle use could be a promising strategy for promoting context-specific physical activity.
- Longitudinal studies should be conducted to confirm the present results.

BackgroundThis study aimed to identify the cross-sectional associations of public bicycle use with physical activity during transport and leisure-time among Taiwanese adults.MethodsA telephone interviewing and CATI survey was conducted to Taiwanese adults aged 20-64 years. Data on public bicycle use (nonpublic, nonregular public, and public bicycle users) and time spent engaging in transport-related and leisure-time physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-long version) were obtained from 1068 adults in three urban cities.ResultsAfter adjustment for potential confounders, public bicycle users were found to be more likely to achieve 150 minutes of transport-related physical activity (OR = 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.25-3.10) and leisure-time physical activity (OR = 1.79; 95% CI: 1.14-2.81) than nonpublic bicycle users were.DiscussionPublic bicycle use is associated with achieving the recommended domain-specific physical activity levels. Encouraging public bicycle use is promising for encouraging adults to achieve health-enhancing levels of transport-related and leisure-time physical activity.