ZIV position:
Cycling to promote health and prevent illness

30 January 2025

For years, health experts have been drawing attention to the existence and effects of increasing levels of physical inactivity among society. Both physical inactivity and the number of overweight people have increased significantly and the problem is only getting worse. It is leading to lower life expectancy, a constantly increasing disease burden for countries and potentially a financial strain on the social welfare system in the future.

In Germany, the facts are alarming. In its 2022 Global Status Report on Physical Activity, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports dramatic figures for Germany, whereby it ranks even worse than average compared to other wealthy countries: 44 percent of women and 40 percent of men over 18 years old need to exercise more. The situation in Germany is also dramatic among 11- to 17-year-olds: 88 percent of girls and 80 percent of boys do not get enough exercise. Among the younger generation, we can expect to see severe health effects and shorter life expectancies unless we actively take countermeasures; the WHO is also calling for this. The WHO reports that the Covid-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the levels of physical inactivity. It urges its member states to do more to promote exercise – more cycling and walking, for example – as the social and economic effects (among these, medical costs and work absences) are devastating. «».

Und die Krankheitskosten, die auf mangelnde körperliche Aktivität zurückzuführen sind, haben wirtschaftliche Folgen sowohl für das Gesundheitssystem als auch für unsere Gesellschaft. Laut einer Studie des Universitätsklinikums Hamburg-Eppendorf haben Personen mit «unzulänglichem Maß an Bewegung» durchschnittlich circa 188 Euro höhere direkte (eigene) [1] Gesundheitskosten als Aktivere. Zusätzlich entstünden 482 Euro indirekte Mehrkosten pro Jahr durch Krankentage oder gesundheitsbedingter Frühverrentung. Das Centre for Economics and Business Research vermutet, dass im Jahr 2030 europaweit jährliche Kosten von über 125 Mrd. € anfallen könnten.

Measures to get even just one fifth of the currently inactive Europeans up to the recommended level of regular exercise would currently achieve a saving of up to €16 billion – and about 100,000 deaths associated with inactivity could be avoided EU-wide every year. The savings potential for Germany is calculated at approx. €2.9 billion. According to estimates from a report by the WHO and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Germany will spend an additional €2.1 billion each year from 2022 until 2050 treating illnesses caused by physical inactivity.

The WHO recommends 30 minutes of moderate to strenuous exercise five times a week for adults to counteract physical inactivity. It has set an activity target of at least 60 minutes a day for children and young people (5- to 17-year-olds). According to the WHO, time spent sitting is one of the greatest health risks and should be offset by sufficient activity.

The scientific findings are clear: approx. 80 percent of all illnesses are either directly caused by or made more likely by physical inactivity and malnutrition, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, diabetes, cancer, dementia, mental illnesses, infections and chronic inflammation. Our metabolism, circulatory system, brain and much more rely on exercise to function properly and well. Cycling in everyday life and during leisure time is the ideal transport, sport and leisure movement to promote health. Studies show a more than 70 percent decreased risk of cancer mortality, an 88 percent decreased risk of dementia and a life expectancy that is up to 20 years higher, for example.

Radfahren stärkt unter anderem das Herz-Kreislauf-System, aktiviert den Gelenkstoffwechsel und schont gleichzeitig die Gelenke. Gerade auch für Übergewichtige ist das Fahrradfahren daher eine ideale Bewegungsart. Denn das größte Gewicht des Körpers lastet auf dem Sattel, sodass die Gelenke, Sehnen und Bänder beim Radfahren weniger belastet werden. Radsport und Fitness haben aktuell den höchsten Beitrag auf die Ausdaueraktivität der Bevölkerung. Bemerkenswert: Mit Laufen bzw. Joggen (9 %) und Wandern (7 %) sowie dem Radsport sind damit auf den ersten vier Plätzen drei Outdoorsportarten vertreten, die dementsprechend niedrigschwellig jederzeit ausgeübt werden können.

There is a close link between physical inactivity and severe deficits in motor skill development, which in turn lead to visible coordination deficits. The sharp increase in the number of children failing their cycling proficiency test in year four is alarming. In many towns and cities, the failure rate has more than doubled in recent years. In Hamburg, 28 percent of children now fail, while in Bremen, it is up to 40 percent at some schools. The main cause is impairments in motor skills.

Protected areas and pathways away from the road provide ideal conditions for teaching motor skills and learning how to ride a bicycle safely and sustainably. Forest areas with different terrains, obstacles and inclines are also particularly well suited to this. Here, children and people of all ages can discover through play the fun of exercising in nature and also learn to safely control their bicycles in all situations. Confidence in their movements and awareness of their surroundings are Cycling in forests is healthy for all age groups
important basic skills for safely interacting with road traffic, whether on a bicycle or on foot. If children are given motor challenges, this also fosters the creation of connections in their brain. In fact, brain research has discovered that active children who cycle also do better at school, for example. So cycling makes you clever!

The mental health benefits of sufficient exercise should not be overlooked either. Exercise such as cycling makes us both physically and psychologically strong. Happy hormones are released, and the blood supply to the brain increases, improving performance. In addition, different chemicals are released that among others have a positive effect on the regulation of our sleep/wake cycles and our emotions. At the same time, the levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline are reduced. Studies show that regular physical activity combats depression, anxiety disorders and even dementia, while improving feelings of self-worth, self-confidence and self-efficacy.

Studies have found that even 30 minutes of cycling has a positive effect on participants’ mental health. The cause is believed to be the increased release of what are known as happy hormones such as endorphins and adrenaline due to the uniform, cyclical movement of cycling and the associated relaxing effect. After just a short bicycle ride, the positive feeling increases and cyclists experience emotional harmony.

A new study from the University of Edinburgh found that commuting daily by bicycle not only decreases stress levels, but also improves cyclists’ general quality of life. The study, which followed almost 400,000 people over a period of five years, delivers striking insights into the positive effects of cycling on mental health, with clear results: people who regularly cycled to work had significantly fewer mental health problems than their colleagues who drove or walked. The probability that they were prescribed antidepressants was 15 percent lower. The positive effects were even more pronounced in women, which points to the possibility that women benefit more from the stress-reducing and mood-elevating effects of cycling.

School cycling club with its own pump track

Promoting mobility in daycare centres and schools is already an important issue from the perspective of health, education, transport and environment policy and must be accorded greater attention. Beside promoting physical activity in children and young people, cycling also teaches social competence and strengthens social cohesion. These are supported by road safety education, cycling clubs, activity days and cycling during PE lessons at school. As they enjoy the exercise and master motor skills, children and young people learn to appreciate bicycles as an everyday mode of transport. Even at a young age, this can influence their choice of transport for everyday life in the future.

Through mobility education in schools and daycare centres in which bicycles play a central role, children and young people moreover learn how to make informed decisions about modes of transport. This anchors sustainable travel and cycling in society long-term. Maps showing safe cycle routes to school as well as bicycle parking opportunities, enable children to use the knowledge they have gained from this mobility education and promotion on their way to school. Children and young people thus learn to navigate road traffic independently. This not only makes them mobile and autonomous, but also supports healthy personal development. At the same time, road traffic safety improves – especially outside schools – because children and young people can make their own way to school and the need for parent taxis can be minimised.

Cycling fosters inclusion and participation in schools; it is cheap and facilitates interaction with others travelling the same route to school. Cycling activities therefore foster social skills and counteract the ever-increasing media consumption and accompanying loneliness among children and young people. Training teachers to encourage physical activity and deliver and promote mobility education should be tackled on the national level and these topics incorporated into the curriculum as a high priority as only one in ten girls and one in five boys get enough exercise in Germany.

Bicycles have many facets: they are the ideal everyday mode of transport and a popular companion while on holiday or for local recreation. For those with a racing, gravel or mountain bike, it is also flexible sports equipment that can be integrated into everyday life and is easily accessible at all times. Climate change and the lack of snow in the mountains are bringing new momentum, particularly mountain biking as a sporting activity during leisure time. The enthusiasm for bicycles and cycling as a sport is encouraged through cycling events. Sports clubs do not merely serve social cohesion, but also promote respectful interactions with others and the environment in which the sport is practised. Mountain biking clubs campaign for good cooperation, for instance, and encourage their members to interact sustainably with nature through campaigns and initiatives. These structures should be maintained and encouraged. Promoting this outdoor sport also serves the population’s local recreation needs and is a location factor that is gaining in significance for municipalities and districts. Governments must ensure that there are good opportunities for sports and physical activity everywhere, for everyone. This includes well-developed cycle routes and hiking trails, parks, and sports and leisure facilities.

A lack of exercise and deficits in the development of motor skills are omnipresent in the population. Bicycles and e-bikes are the ideal mode of transport and recreational tool to improve health. They should play a central role in combatting physical inactivity, preventing illness and promoting sport. Future governments must ensure that there are good opportunities to engage in sports and physical activity everywhere and for everyone, and must work together across departments on health promotion issues. This includes well-developed cycle routes and hiking trails, parks, and sports and leisure facilities in everyday life as well as for leisure. For health, education, transport and environment policy reasons, mobility education and promotion should already begin at daycare centres and primary schools. Training teachers to encourage physical activity and deliver and promote mobility education should be tackled on the national level and these topics incorporated into the curriculum as a high priority as only one in ten girls and one in five boys in Germany get enough exercise.

[1] Out-of-pocket expenses are payments that people must make themselves, for example buying medication.

Document creation | 30.01.25