Cycling can save your life says the newspaper which slams cycleways

The newspaper which earlier this month said protected cycleways were "paralysing Britain" now says "Cycling to work drastically lowers your risk of having a heart attack."

You’ve got to feel sorry for readers of the Daily Mail – should they hate cycling or love it?

Today’s story is based on a new Danish study which found that middle aged people who spend 90 minutes a week cycling have a much lower risk of having a heart attack.

Danish scientist Dr Anders Grontved said cycling saves lives.

Dr Grontved and his team from the University of Southern Denmark found that people who spend 90 minutes cycling a week are 24 per cent less likely to have heart attacks.

Just 30 minutes of cycling a week had a huge impact on health, lowering the chance of developing coronary heart disease by 16 per cent.

"Finding time for exercise can be challenging for many people, so clinicians working in the field of cardiovascular risk prevention should consider promoting cycling as a mode of transportation," explained Dr Grontved.

The findings have been published in Circulation, a medical journal.

The study – which was conducted over 20 years – highlighted how taking up cycling later in life can still improve health.

Co-author Dr Kim Blond said that cycling was an "easy way to make physical activity part of one’s routine in a non-structured and informal fashion."

Dr Blond added: "Public health authorities, governments, and employers ought to consider initiatives that promote bicycle riding as a way to support large-scale cardiovascular disease prevention efforts." 

Initiatives such as protected cycleways, no doubt. 

Daily Mail readers must get lots of headaches.