A national report being launched today in Canberra has for the first time placed a dollar figure on the benefits of cycling participation.

The report, Cycling: Getting Australia Moving, which was commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, estimates that cycling currently saves the government $227.2 million per year in health costs alone.

Professor Adrian Bauman and Associate Professor Chris Rissel from the University of Sydney, along with co-authors from Deakin and Curtin Universities and the Cycling Promotion Fund, have identified key barriers and benefits to Australians getting on their bikes.

As well as identifying the strong economic imperatives for investment in bicycle friendly programs and infrastructure, the report identifies existing barriers to increased cycle use such as cycling proficiency, cultural barriers and safety concerns.

"More than half of all Australians are not meeting public health recommendations for physical activity, and the rise in obesity and diabetes levels is a clear consequence of this inactivity.

"Building cycling into everyday transport is an easy way to be sufficiently physically active without having to re-structure your whole life or find time to exercise," said co-author Associate Professor Chris Rissel from Sydney University's School of Public Health.

The report found there has been a 28 per cent increase in cycling between Census 2001 and 2006 and that around 1.7 million Australian cycled for recreation in 2006. It says that while many Australian are choosing to cycle, increasingly everyday cycling has the potential to provide sustained and broad benefits across the community.