Try our suggestions to get a walking or cycling program going and avoid weight gain.

A thirty-minute bike ride can help you avoid weight gain.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Many of us fear the threat of developing a mid-gut fat bulge heading into middle age, but a large new study offers some good news for women. Biking for as little as five minutes a day can reduce the amount of weight you gain during this period of your life. The study appears this week in the journal The Archives of Internal Medicine.

THE DETAILS: In the 16-year follow-up study of more than 18,400 women, researchers looked at weight change between 1989 and 2005. They found that bicycling, similar to brisk walking, reduces the amount of weight women gained. This was particularly true for women who were already overweight or obese; when they increased their biking to 30 minutes a day, they gained seven pounds less than women who were at normal weight (but didn't increase biking time to 30 minutes a day) at the start of the study. Women who biked just five minutes a day gained an average of 1.5 pounds less weight than women who did not report any biking.

Walking also worked, as long as the pace was brisk, not leisurely. Women who increased their brisk walking (classified as 3 mph or more) sessions to 30 minutes or more a day gained an average of four pounds less than those who didn't walk more.

WHAT IT MEANS: There's been a lot of previous research focused on the health benefits of brisk walking. This study gives strong credence to biking, too, as a doable strategy for staying at a healthy weight. That could be a real benefit for women who are pressed for time, because biking can kill two birds with one stone: You can get your daily dose of exercise while commuting or running errands.

More than just a time-saver and weight-control tactic, biking has even been shown to be a lifesaver for some men. German researchers found in 2004 that when men with blocked coronary arteries rode their bike daily, they experienced less chest pain and strengthened their hearts more when compared to the men who elected to go exercise-free and instead opt for angioplasty, an artery-clearing surgery. Researchers concluded biking would be a good heart-protecting measure for men with stable heart disease. (Check with your doctor first, because some blockages do require urgent surgery.)