Objectively measured active transportation to school and other destinations among 10-13 year olds

Children's Independent Mobility, School Travel, and the Surrounding Neighborhood

INTRODUCTION

Children's active travel to and from school (AST) and children's independent mobility (CIM) are consistently positively associated with physical activity (PA); however, few researchers have investigated associations between objective measures of the environment and indicators of AST and CIM in national samples.

METHODS

A national sample of 2,067 Canadian parents of 7- to 12-year-old children was recruited in December 2020. Regression analyses were used in 2023 to assess the association between geographic information system measures of park density, blue space, population density, greenspace, intersection density, and CIM and AST to and from school.

RESULTS

Children in areas with high versus low park density (>0.025 vs. ≤0.025) had higher odds of travel to school via active modes (OR: 1.47 [1.14, 1.91], p=0.003). Children in neighborhoods in the highest quartile for neighborhood greenspace (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) were more likely to travel to home actively than those in areas of lower greenspace (OR: 1.70 [1.18, 2.45], p=0.004). On average, children living in areas in the highest versus the lowest quartile for intersection density were more likely to engage in AST to (OR: 2.43 [1.58, 3.75], p<0.001) and from (OR: 2.77 [1.80, 4.29], p<0.001) school.

CONCLUSIONS

The observed associations underscore a need for city planners and policymakers to ensure sufficient access to parks and neighborhood greenspace, especially if findings are confirmed in longitudinal studies. More research is needed to investigate the role of intersection density in supporting AST and CIM.

Children's Access to Non-School Destinations by Active or Independent Travel: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Children's access to non-school destinations is important for their well-being, but this has been overlooked in transport planning. Research on children's access to non-school destinations is growing, and there is a need for a comprehensive overview, examining both quantitative and qualitative studies, of the existing evidence on places that children access by active or independent travel.

OBJECTIVES

Identify and summarize quantitative and qualitative research on the topic of active or independent travel to non-school destinations for elementary aged children (6 to 13 years old).

METHODS

Papers published in English between 1980 and July 2021 were sourced from: (i) Web of Science Core Collection; (ii) PubMed; and (iii) APA PsycInfo. Three relevant journals related to children and transport were hand searched: (i) Children's Geographies; (ii) Journal of Transport & Health; and (iii) Journal of Transport Geography. The search was limited to peer-reviewed articles published in English between 1980 and July 2021. Covidence, an online software platform for systematic reviews, was used to organize articles during the title and abstract screening stage. PRISMA-Scr is applied for reporting.

RESULTS

27 papers were retained from an initial 1293 identified peer-reviewed articles. The results reveal that children in different geographies travel unsupervised or by active modes to places that support different domains of their well-being such as a friend or relative's home, local parks or green spaces, recreational facilities, and different retail locations (e.g., restaurants). There is evidence that children's ability to reach certain places is constrained, likely due to safety concerns or environmental barriers.

CONCLUSIONS

Research on children's diverse destinations is relatively limited as compared to trips to school. Various methodologies have been applied and can be combined to completement each other such as objective GPS tracking and subjective surveys on places children would go if they were available. Future research should clearly report and discuss the non-school destinations that children access to better inform transport planning and policy for all aspects of children's lives.

Walking and cycling, as active transportation, and obesity factors in adolescents from eight countries

BACKGROUND

Evidence has shown that active transportation decreases obesity rates, but considering walking or cycling as separate modes could provide additional information on the health benefits in adolescents. This study aimed to examine the associations between walking and cycling as form active transportation and obesity indicators in Latin American adolescents.

METHODS

Population-based study with 671 adolescents (mean age: 15.9 [standard deviation: 0.8] years) from eight countries participating in the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health/Estudio Latino Americano Nutrition y Salud (ELANS). Walking and cycling for active transportation were measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire long version. Body mass index, waist circumference, neck circumference, and relative fat mass were used as obesity indicators. Associations were estimated using logistic regression models for the pooled data adjusted for country, sex, age, socio-economic levels, race/ethnicity, leisure-time physical activity and energy intake.

RESULTS

Mean time spent walking and cycling was 22.6 (SD: 33.1) and 5.1 (SD: 24.1) min/day, respectively. The median values were 12.8 (IQR: 4.2; 25.7) and 0 (IQR: 0; 6.2) for walking and cycling. Participants reporting ≥ 10 min/week of walking or cycling for active transportation were 84.2% and 15.5%, respectively. Costa Rica (94.3% and 28.6%) showed the highest prevalence for walking and cycling, respectively, while Venezuela (68.3% and 2.4%) showed the lowest prevalence. There was no significant association between walking for active transportation and any obesity indicator. In the overall sample, cycling for ≥ 10 min/week was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of overweight/obesity based on BMI (OR: 0.86; 95%CI: 0.88; 0.94) and waist circumference (OR: 0.90; 95%CI: 0.83; 0.97) adjusted for country, sex, age, socio-economic level, race/ethnicity, leisure-time physical activity and energy intake compared to cycling for < 10 min/week. There were no significant associations between cycling for active transportation and neck circumference as well as relative fat mass.

CONCLUSIONS

Cycling for active transportation was negatively associated with obesity indicators, especially body mass index and waist circumference. Programs for promoting cycling for active transportation could be a feasible strategy to tackle the high obesity rates in adolescents in Latin America.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT02226627. Retrospectively registered on August 27, 2014.

Associations of mode and distance of commuting to school with cardiorespiratory fitness in Slovenian schoolchildren: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Background

It is unclear whether active commuting has the potential to improve children’s health. This study examined the association of commuting mode and distance with children’s cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF).

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study, including 713 Slovenian schoolchildren aged 12 to 15 years. Commuting modes were self-reported, and four commuting groups were constructed, while CRF was determined with a 20-m shuttle run test. The distance from home to school was calculated using the Geographic Information System. Effects of commuting mode and distance, controlling for age, gender and amount of total physical activity, were evaluated using general two linear models (one for each direction of commuting to/from school).

Results

The main effect of commuting group on CRF and its interaction with distance were significant in the direction from school to home (P = 0.013 and P = 0.028, respectively), but not in the opposite direction. Predicted differences in CRF between commuting groups were moderate and generally higher in males than in females. When comparing commuting group median distance from home to school, males driven by car had around 4 ml/min/kg lower predicted CRF than those who walked (P = 0.01) or used wheels commuting (e.g., bicycle, skateboard).

Conclusions

The distance of commuting had a small effect on CRF, except in the Car group where children who live close to school had significantly lower CRF than those living further away. Children driven by car who live within wheels or walk distance from school should be targeted by interventions promoting active transport.

A systematic review of the evolution of GPS use in active living research: A state of the evidence for research, policy, and practice

This is the first systematic review to comprehensively capture Global Positioning Systems' (GPS) utilization in active living research by investigating the influence of physical contexts and social environment on all intensities of physical activity and sedentary behavior among all age groups. An extensive search of peer-reviewed literature was conducted using six databases. Out of 2026 articles identified, 129 studies met the inclusion criteria. After describing the evolution of GPS use across four themes (study designs and methods, physical contexts and social environment, active transportation, and behaviors), evidence-based recommendations for active living research, policy, and practice were generated.

Profiles of Active Transportation among Children and Adolescents in the Global Matrix 3.0 Initiative: A 49-Country Comparison

This article aims to compare the prevalence of active transportation among children and adolescents from 49 countries at different levels of development. The data was extracted from the Report Cards on Physical Activity for Children and Youth from the 49 countries that participated in the Global Matrix 3.0 initiative. Descriptive statistics and a latent profile analysis with active transportation, Human Development Index and Gini index as latent variables were conducted. The global average grade was a "C", indicating that countries are succeeding with about half of children and youth (47-53%). There is wide variability in the prevalence and in the definition of active transportation globally. Three different profiles of countries were identified based on active transportation grades, Human Development Index (HDI) and income inequalities. The first profile grouped very high HDI countries with low prevalence of active transport and low inequalities. The second profile grouped low and middle HDI countries with high prevalence of active transportation and higher inequalities. And the third profile was characterized by the relatively high prevalence of active transportation and more variability in the socioeconomic variables. Promising policies from countries under each profile were identified. A unified definition of active transportation and contextualized methods for its assessment are needed to advance in surveillance and practice.