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lhsi writes:

Commuting to work via private transport is linked with having a higher bmi and body fat, compared to "active commuting" (walking or cycling), as would be expected, but public transport use when commuting had a similar effect to active commuting.

A key finding from this study is that the effects observed for public transport were very similar in size and significance to those for walking or cycling to work. This finding may have important implications for transport and health policy, as over the past decade the proportion of commuters who walk or cycle to work has remained stubbornly low outside major cities in the UK. Greater emphasis on encouraging a shift from private to public transport modes may plausibly have significant population health benefits and may be more acceptable to commuters. Such a strategy could also yield large environmental benefits, and could be an important structural intervention to combat obesity.

The magnitude of effects observed in this study were clinically meaningful. The observed effect size for men of around 1 (0.97 to 1.1) BMI point suggests that, for the average man in the sample (43 years old, 176 cm tall, weight 86 kg, and BMI 27.8), this would equate to a difference in weight of 3 kg (almost half a stone). For the average woman in the sample (43 years old, 163 cm tall, weight 72.8 kg, BMI 27.4), an effect size of around 0.7 (0.66 to 0.72) BMI points would correspond to a difference in weight of approximately 2.5 kg (5.5 lb). These differences are larger than the effect sizes seen in most individually focused interventions based on diet and physical activity to prevent overweight and obesity.