Physical activity and muscle activity of riding electric scooters

Introduction

Physical activity is an important consideration when it comes to evaluating the overall benefits of a particular mode of transportation. E-scooters are an increasingly popular form of micromobility but have generated concern over their impacts on active transportation modes. Although the transportation impacts of e-scooters have been widely studied, the physical activity impacts of these devices are uncertain. This study investigates physical activity and muscle activation from riding an e-scooter. We compare those outcomes to the two most common substituted modes, driving a car and walking.

Methods

In this study of 20 participants (age 21–41), the metabolic physical activity and muscle activity of riding an e-scooter were studied in a crossover experiment. We measure metabolic physical activity (METs) on a fixed course, that can be measured as a metabolic rate of energy expenditure, which is often described as MET-minutes (MET over a period of time). We measure muscle activity during a series of typical maneuvers. Driving and walking were also evaluated as a benchmark comparison.

Results

The results reveal that riding an e-scooter provides light-intensity physical activity (energy expenditure = 2.14 METs). This is a significantly greater level of energy expenditure than that measured when driving (MET = 1.42), but less than that measured when walking (MET = 3.12). Compared to level walking, e-scooter riding had higher muscle activation in arms and trunk muscles. E-scooter muscle activation was higher in all muscle groups than driving. Driving a car is a sedentary mode, e-scooters provide light physical activity, and walking provides moderate physical activity.

Conclusions

The physical activity benefits of riding an e-scooter are maximized when people use them to replace sedentary travel such as driving. However, when e-scooters are used to replace moderate-intensity activities such as walking, net transportation-related physical activity could be reduced.