If you got the bus to work this morning rather than walking, don't feel guilty. A study suggests those who commute by bus or train are healthier than those who walk.
如果你今早不是走路而是坐公交上班的，不用覺得內疚。一項調查顯示，乘坐公交和火車通勤的人比走路上班的人更健康。

It isn't clear why but it may be that when the walk to the bus or train station is factored in, those who take public transport are actually getting more exercise.
具體原因還不清楚，不過有可能是因為如果把走到公交或火車車站的路程也算在內，乘坐公共交通工具的人實際得到的鍛煉更多。

The counterintuitive finding comes from a study of 6,000 Japanese adults who underwent a battery of health tests and provided information on their commute.
一項針對6000名日本成年人的研究得出了這一有違直覺的結論，這6000人參與了一系列健康測試并提供了有關自己通勤的各項信息。

Those who took the bus or train were deemed to be the fittest – they were the slimmest, had the best blood pressure and were the least likely to have diabetes.
那些乘坐公交或火車通勤的人被認為是最健康的——他們最苗條、血壓狀況最好并且最不容易得糖尿病。

Importantly, those who took public transport were 40 per cent less likely to be diabetic overall and 26 per cent less likely to be diabetic than the walkers. Those who walked or cycled were next healthiest, while those who drove to work were in the worst shape, the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions meeting in Florida heard.
重要的是，坐公共交通通勤的人得糖尿病的概率比總體數據要低40%，比走路上班的人低26%。走路或騎車的上班族是第二健康的，自己開車上班的人身體最差。這一研究發現在佛羅里達舉辦的美國心臟協會科學會議（American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions）上發表。

A spokesman for the association said: 'While it's already established that a physically active lifestyle helps reduce the likelihood of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, it is unclear whether these risk factors for heart disease and stroke are affected by how you get to work.
該協會的發言人說：“盡管人們已經認可積極鍛煉的生活方式有助于降低患糖尿病、高血壓和肥胖癥的可能性，但目前還不清楚這些引起心臟病和中風的風險因素是否受到上班的方式的影響。”

Study author Dr Hisako Tsuji, of the Moriguchi City Health Examination Centre in Osaka, said it was impossible to tell if taking public transport improves health or if bus and train passengers are simply healthier to begin with.
研究報告的作者、大阪（Osaka）守口市健康檢測中心（Moriguchi City Health Examination Centre）的辻久子（Hisako Tsuji）博士說，本來想斷定乘坐公共交通工具是否有利于健康或者公交和火車的乘客是否比其他人要健康是不可能的。

However, Japanese city-dwellers tend to only walk or bike to work if the journey will take under 20 minutes or so.
然而，日本城市居民在走路路程在20分鐘以內的情況下，一般都會選擇步行或者騎自行車上班。

As a result, when travel to and from station is taking into account, bus and train passengers may be walking and cycling further than those who walk or bike their entire journey.
因此，如果計入往返站點的路程，那些乘坐公交或火車的人走路或騎車的距離可能比全程都走路的人要長。

Dr Tsuji said: 'Active modes of commuting to work may be important physical activity in countries where lifestyles have become sedentary.
辻久子博士說：“在人們習慣久坐不動的生活方式的國家，活躍的通勤工作模式可能成為重要的身體活動。”

'People should consider taking public transportation instead of a car, as a part of daily, regular exercise.
“人們應考慮乘坐公共交通工具而不是自己駕車，作為日常規律鍛煉的一種形式。”

'It may be useful for healthcare providers to ask patients about how they commute.'
“對醫療服務提供者來說，詢問病人他們的通勤方式也許能提供有用的信息。”

Dr Jorge Plutzky, of the American Heart Association, cautioned against reading too much into the results. But he added that the study throws up the idea that 'activity, even when modest and integrated into one's lifestyle like how you get to work, and the walking before and after you're getting there, could matter'.
美國心臟協會的喬治·普盧茨基（Jorge Plutzky）博士提醒人們不要對研究結果作太多解讀。但他補充道，這項研究提出了新的理念，那就是“即使是不太劇烈、融入個人生活方式之中的運動，比如上班的方式以及上下班途中的步行，也會起作用。”

Vocabulary

counterintuitive：與直覺不一致的，(想法、提議等)違反常理的

a battery of：一系列，一連串

diabetic：患糖尿病的

to begin with：原先，本來，起初

sedentary：久坐的，不活動的

英文來源：每日郵報

譯者：張卉

審校&編輯：劉明