A study by a Portland doctor highlighting the unexpected health benefits from riding an e-bike has won a competition at the Australian and New Zealand level.

Dr Brian Rose, who starts his internship at Active Health Portland and Portland District Health on January 11, completed the research as part of his Deakin University medical studies; through the Deakin Research Scholar program.

After completing his research, Dr Rose competed in a Three Minute Thesis competition, presenting the key points of his work and answering a question, winning Deakin’s competition and then successfully representing the university at the Australia-New Zealand level.

He is looking to publish his findings through the Australian Journal of General Practice.

Dr Rose’s thesis on the health impacts of e-bikes compared to riding a conventional bike found that e-bike users tend to ride for longer and enjoy the benefits of extended, moderate exercise.

“Broadly speaking, the level of exercise anyone gets on an e-bike is less than on a regular bike, but it’s not as much less as you would expect and it still falls into the realm of moderately-intensive exercise,” he said.

“The big difference is that because people are riding them for longer because they are easier to ride and they get assistance from the motor, they actually get fitter over a period of time.

“It’s like comparing someone who jogs for five kilometres a day to someone who sprints 400 metres. The person jogging is having a better impact on their health due to the longer exposure they are getting.”

One study referenced by Dr Rose showed that people ride e-bikes for an average 9.6km per day compared to 2km per day on a regular bike.

Another study found cycling had a 6.6 per cent improvement in fitness, but e-biking had a 10 per cent improvement.

Under Australian laws, e-bike motors won’t work unless the pedals are being used, thus ensuring a degree of exercise.

Dr Rose’s research also put reports of e-bike accidents into perspective.

“If you look at the raw numbers, there is an increase in crashes. However, when compared on a time basis the numbers are comparable and the safety profile is probably about the same,” Dr Rose said.

“Because riders are spending more time on e-bikes, there are higher numbers of crashes.”

Dr Rose, who rides an e-bike, hopes his research will break down misconceptions and encourage more GPs to “get on board with the concept of e-bikes”.

“I feel there are a lot of misconceptions, particularly in relation to chronic conditions,” he said. “It’s very early days, but the data seems to indicate e-bikes are good for people with heart conditions or diabetes, which are a massive part of Australia’s disease burden.

“Trying to convert high-risk patients to this form of fitness and convert others from cars to e-bikes would do wonders for cost of disease in Australia. Currently 55 per cent of Australians don’t meet the activity guidelines set out by the Australian Government, which is estimated to cost 2.5 per cent of our annual health budget.”

Dr Rose added that there was a lot of data to suggest e-bikes drastically reduce carbon emissions.

“An e-bike takes a lot less energy than a two-tonne car,” he said. “I think more people would look at using them if they understood the health benefits.”

Dr Rose did a total of 15 months of his medical training at Portland as part of the Deakin University Rural Community Clinical School and has decided to return to Active Health Portland and Portland District Health for his internship year.

“Portland has been a really good place for learning,” he said.