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Potential of electric bicycles to improve the health of people with Type 2 diabetes: a feasibility study
Author(s) -
Cooper A. R.,
Tibbitts B.,
England C.,
Procter D.,
Searle A.,
Sebire S. J.,
Ranger E.,
Page A. S.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
diabetic medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.474
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1464-5491
pISSN - 0742-3071
DOI - 10.1111/dme.13664
Subject(s) - medicine , cycling , type 2 diabetes , interquartile range , population , physical therapy , diabetes mellitus , medical emergency , gerontology , environmental health , surgery , archaeology , history , endocrinology
Aim To explore in a feasibility study whether ‘e‐cycling’ was acceptable to, and could potentially improve the health of, people with Type 2 diabetes. Methods Twenty people with Type 2 diabetes were recruited and provided with an electric bicycle for 20 weeks. Participants completed a submaximal fitness test at baseline and follow‐up to measure predicted maximal aerobic power, and semi‐structured interviews were conducted to assess the acceptability of using an electric bicycle. Participants wore a heart rate monitor and a Global Positioning System ( GPS ) receiver in the first week of electric bicycle use to measure their heart‐rate during e‐cycling. Results Eighteen participants completed the study, cycling a median (interquartile range) of 21.4 (5.5–37.7) km per week. Predicted maximal aerobic power increased by 10.9%. Heart rate during electric bicycle journeys was 74.7% of maximum, compared with 64.3% of maximum when walking. Participants used the electric bicycles for commuting, shopping and recreation, and expressed how the electric bicycle helped them to overcome barriers to active travel/cycling, such as hills. Fourteen participants purchased an electric bicycle on study completion. Conclusions There was evidence that e‐cycling was acceptable, could increase fitness and elicited a heart rate that may lead to improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors in this population. Electric bicycles have potential as a health‐improving intervention in people with Type 2 diabetes.