“CicloExpresso das Barrocas”: a Portuguese example of promoting physical activity

Abstract Issue Active travel to school is one of the main forms of physical activity for children, contributing to attainment of several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Young people who travel to school in an active way increase the overall amount of time they spend being physically active each day. Description of the Problem In 2017 the association Ciclaveiro created the 'CicloExpresso das Barrocas” in Aveiro. The 'CicloExpresso das Barrocas” is a “bike train” comprising a group of children cycling to their school - Escola Básica das Barrocas - accompanied by parents. It is organized by a group of parents, with the support of the local parish council and school parents associations. The main objective was to promote sustainable mobility and get children to go to school in sustainable and healthy means of transport. Results Since 2017 more “train lines” were created to different schools, involving more children and parents. In the near future, the aim is to increase the numbers of “train lines”, schools involved,”trains” per week and children and parents who use them regularly. Physical activity has not only health benefits and contributes to a child's physical, mental and emotional development but also has potentially broad social and academic gains. Additionally it contributes to social cohesion, which in turn can boost confidence and self-esteem. Lessons The promotion of active travel to school can be challenging and may require support from sectors other than education. This example shows it can be implemented successfully through collaboration among relevant sectors. CicloExpresso have been getting public recognition. In Aveiro it received a “family-community involvement award for his work with CicloExpresso”.This example of good practice can provide inspiration for policy-makers, schools and researchers. They provide an overview of actions taken to increase physical activity among children and adolescents. Key messages Children who travel to school in an active way increase the time they spend being physically active each day. Active travel to school can be challenging and may require support from many sectors.

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Sustainable Mobility Promotion During COVID-19

Journal of Health, Sports, and Kinesiology - JOHSK ◽

10.47544/johsk.2021.2.1.22 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 22-23

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Well Being ◽

Active Travel ◽

Physical Activity Guideline ◽

Future Research ◽

Sustainable Transport ◽

Sustainable Mobility ◽

Korean Society ◽

Policy Interventions ◽

Active Travel To School

With the recent COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Korea, surveys have reported rising issues with physical inactivity and obesity, social isolation, and economic depression. We analyzed the implications of active mobility and attuned it towards Korean society, exploring the possible scenarios, cases, and policies. Our research recommended active mobility to be an effective solution. Originally, the keywords used in Google Scholar were COVID-19, active mobility, and physical activity. To add more depth, active transport and active travel were inserted later on. The physical activity guideline, socioeconomic and environmental mechanisms were explored by scouring through documents published by various institutions and local authorities. Other cases about active mobility were summarized, while policy interventions, such as utilizing active travel to school were suggested. Sustainable Transport strives for the development of efficient methods of personal mobility on three major fronts: economic growth, environmental preservation (13 SDGs), and social development. Since the emergence of COVID-19, cases of sustainable active mobility have increased; countries utilizing WHO’s Health Impact Assessment (HIA) to find ways to improve health and well-being. Based on the recent development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), infrastructure, and the legal system in Korea, the country needs to implement safe methods for active mobility to develop further. Sustainable mobility could positively address the problems that arose with the emergence of COVID-19. Using good cases with a careful application to Korean society is necessary. Some policy interventions including active travel to school could be applicable with careful preparation and participation. Prudent advocacy from the government is also needed to promote new regulations. When we read about COVID-19 rapidly spreading across Europe, especially Italy, both researchers were alarmed at the news. As time passed, we were intrigued by the quick reaction of the governments to guide their cities from electric vehicles to sustainable transport. Through this paper, we were able to learn more in-depth details about Italy’s big cities and how they achieved homogeneous awareness regarding sustainable mobility (Table 1). Was COVID-19 the trigger? However, due to the different socioeconomic aspects between Italy and South Korea, the root cause was difficult to discern. We would recommend that future research addresses more comprehensive aspects for foreigners to learn from the study.

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Systematic review of acute physically active learning and classroom movement breaks on children’s physical activity, cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour: understanding critical design features

BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine ◽

10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000341 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. e000341 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Andy J Daly-Smith ◽

Stephen Zwolinsky ◽

Jim McKenna ◽

Phillip D Tomporowski ◽

Margaret Anne Defeyter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Academic Performance ◽

Active Learning ◽

Good Practice ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Physically Active ◽

Classroom Behaviour ◽

The Impact

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of acute classroom movement break (CMB) and physically active learning (PAL) interventions on physical activity (PA), cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesPubMed, EBSCO, Academic Search Complete, Education Resources Information Center, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, SCOPUS and Web of Science.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesStudies investigating school-based acute bouts of CMB or PAL on (PA), cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour. The Downs and Black checklist assessed risk of bias.ResultsTen PAL and eight CMB studies were identified from 2929 potentially relevant articles. Risk of bias scores ranged from 33% to 64.3%. Variation in study designs drove specific, but differing, outcomes. Three studies assessed PA using objective measures. Interventions replaced sedentary time with either light PA or moderate-to-vigorous PA dependent on design characteristics (mode, duration and intensity). Only one study factored individual PA outcomes into analyses. Classroom behaviour improved after longer moderate-to-vigorous (>10 min), or shorter more intense (5 min), CMB/PAL bouts (9 out of 11 interventions). There was no support for enhanced cognition or academic performance due to limited repeated studies.ConclusionLow-to-medium quality designs predominate in investigations of the acute impacts of CMB and PAL on PA, cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour. Variable quality in experimental designs, outcome measures and intervention characteristics impact outcomes making conclusions problematic. CMB and PAL increased PA and enhanced time on task. To improve confidence in study outcomes, future investigations should combine examples of good practice observed in current studies.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017070981.

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Day Length and Weather Effects on Children’s Physical Activity and Participation in Play, Sports, and Active Travel

Journal of Physical Activity and Health ◽

10.1123/jpah.9.8.1105 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 1105-1116 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Anna Goodman ◽

James Paskins ◽

Roger Mackett

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Cloud Cover ◽

Objective Measure ◽

Active Travel ◽

Day Length ◽

Physically Active ◽

The Public ◽

Daylight Saving ◽

Long Day ◽

Children’S Physical Activity

Background:Children in primary school are more physically active in the spring/summer. Little is known about the relative contributions of day length and weather, however, or about the underlying behavioral mediators.Methods:325 British children aged 8 to 11 wore accelerometers as an objective measure of physical activity, measured in terms of mean activity counts. Children simultaneously completed diaries in which we identified episodes of out-of-home play, structured sports, and active travel. Our main exposure measures were day length, temperature, rainfall, cloud cover, and wind speed.Results:Overall physical activity was higher on long days (≥ 14 hours daylight), but there was no difference between short (< 9.5 hours) and medium days (10.2–12.6 hours). The effect of long day length was largest between 5 PM and 8 PM, and persisted after adjusting for rainfall, cloud cover, and wind. Up to half this effect was explained by a greater duration and intensity of out-of-home play on long days; structured sports and active travel were less affected by day length.Conclusions:At least above a certain threshold, longer afternoon/evening daylight may have a causal role in increasing child physical activity. This strengthens the public health arguments for daylight saving measures such as those recently under consideration in Britain.

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Active Travel to School: A Coalition-Based Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Elementary School Children

Journal of the American Dietetic Association ◽

10.1016/j.jada.2005.05.030 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 105 (8) ◽

pp. 11 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S.C. Ball ◽

L.A. Linnan ◽

K. Ahlport ◽

C. Giles ◽

A. Vaughn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Elementary School ◽

School Children ◽

Elementary School Children ◽

Active Travel ◽

Active Travel To School

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Implementation contextual factors related to community-based active travel to school interventions: a mixed methods interview study

Implementation Science Communications ◽

10.1186/s43058-021-00198-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

MacKenzie Koester ◽

Carolina M. Bejarano ◽

Ann M. Davis ◽

Ross C. Brownson ◽

Jon Kerner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Thematic Analysis ◽

Active Travel ◽

Family Needs ◽

School Bus ◽

Community Based ◽

The Usa ◽

Walking School Bus ◽

Active Travel To School

Abstract Background Active travel to school contributes to multiple physical and psychosocial benefits for youth, yet population rates of active travel to school are alarmingly low in the USA and many other countries. Though walking school bus interventions are effective for increasing rates of active travel to school and children’s overall physical activity, uptake of such interventions has been low. The objective of this study was to conduct a mixed methods implementation evaluation to identify contextual factors that serve as barriers and facilitators among existing walking school bus programs. Methods Semi-structured interviews guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) were conducted with leaders of low-sustainability (n = 9) and high-sustainability (n = 11) programs across the USA. A combination of quantitative (CFIR-based) coding and inductive thematic analysis was used. The CFIR-based ratings were compared between the low- and high-sustainability programs and themes, subthemes, and exemplary quotes were provided to summarize the thematic analysis. Results In both the low- and high-sustainability programs, three of the 15 constructs assessed were commonly rated as positive (i.e., favorable for supporting implementation): student/family needs and resources, implementation climate, and planning. Three constructs were more often rated as positive in the high-sustainability programs: organizational incentives and rewards, engaging students and parents, and reflecting and evaluating. Three constructs were more often rated as positive in the low-sustainability programs: student/family needs and resources - built environment, available resources, and access to knowledge and information. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis: planning considerations, ongoing coordination considerations, resources and supports, and benefits. Conclusions Engagement of students, parents, and community members were among the factors that emerged across the quantitative and qualitative analyses as most critical for supporting walking school bus program implementation. The information provided by program leaders can help in the selection of implementation strategies that overcome known barriers for increasing the long-term success of community-based physical activity interventions such as the walking school bus.

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Is a Change to Active Travel to School an Important Source of Physical Activity for Chinese Children?

Pediatric Exercise Science ◽

10.1123/pes.2016-0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 161-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Wendy Y. Huang ◽

Stephen H. Wong ◽

Gang He

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Mixed Models ◽

Linear Mixed Models ◽

Active Travel ◽

Chinese Children ◽

Travel Mode ◽

Age Related ◽

One Year ◽

Active Travel To School

This study investigated the association between a change in travel mode to school and one-year changes in physical activity (PA) among children in Hong Kong. Data from 677 children aged 7–10 years (56% boys) who participated in the Understanding Children’s Activity and Nutrition (UCAN) study were analyzed. During the 2010/11 and 2011/12 school years, the children wore an accelerometer for a week and their parents completed a questionnaire about the children’s modes of travel to school and nonschool destinations. Associations between a change in the mode of travel to school and changes in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were determined using linear mixed models, adjusting for covariates. Compared with children who consistently used passive travel modes, a change from passive to active travel to school was positively associated with changes in the percentage of time spent in MVPA (b = 1.32, 95% CI = 0.63, 2.02) and MVPA min/day (b = 10.97, 95% CI = 5.26, 16.68) on weekdays. Similar results were found for weekly MVPA. Promoting active travel to school may help to combat age-related decline in PA for some Chinese children. However, maintaining active travel to school may not be sufficient to halt the decreasing trend in MVPA with age.

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Sustainable Mobility Issues of Physically Active University Students: The Case of Serres, Greece

Future Transportation ◽

10.3390/futuretransp1030043 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 777-794

Author(s):

Foteini Mikiki ◽

Andreas Oikonomou ◽

Ermioni Katartzi

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Physical Education ◽

Purchase Intention ◽

Student Mobility ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Sustainable Mobility ◽

Physically Active ◽

Greek City ◽

Active Population ◽

Positive Attitudes

The mobility practices of students are largely dictated by their respective educational obligations. Students of physical education are an ostensibly physically active population, whose active lifestyle may include active travel. University student mobility research calls for behavioral approaches to ground relevant interventions. This work investigated the sustainability practices in the student community of the Physical Education Department in Serres, a medium-sized Greek city. Moreover, this paper aimed to shed light on the gender differences in the physical activity levels of 259 students, as well as their respective differences in mobility practices. A novel questionnaire, based on Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior and Godin–Shephard’s approach to physical activity, was used. The results confirmed higher levels of physical activity in male students, although their attitude toward physical activity was less positive than that of their female classmates. Further positive attitudes in women were recorded toward sustainable mobility choices, although the evidence demonstrated a similar gap between the answers of the two genders. Car possession was higher in men, whereas car purchase intention was slightly lower in women, who had a lower income in general. Moreover, income impacted gender mobility preferences. Recommendations can be guided by students’ sports preferences and can be gender-sensitive, taking income into account.

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The Associations of Active Travel to School with Physical Activity and Screen Time Among Adolescents: Do Individual and Parental Characteristics Matter?

10.21203/rs.3.rs-52361/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Caihong Huang ◽

Aamir Raoof Memon ◽

Chaomei Liang ◽

Jin-Tao Hong ◽

Youliang Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Screen Time ◽

Parental Education ◽

Geographical Location ◽

Active Travel ◽

Education Level ◽

Parental Characteristics ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship ◽

Active Travel To School

Abstract Background: Little is known about the relationship of active travel to school (ATS) with physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) by individual and parental characteristics among adolescents, especially in China. To address the research gap, this study aimed to explore the difference of sex, age, geographical location, parental occupation and education level in the relationship of ATS with PA and ST among students of grades 7-12 using cross-sectional data.Methods: In 13 cities of Hubei province, China, students from 39 public schools were recruited to engage in the survey. In total, 5898 students (response rate = 89.6%) were invited into this study. Participants were required to report their ATS (including its types), PA and ST as well as sociodemographic information using validated questionnaire. Descriptive analyses were used to report the information of all variables. Regression models were used to analyze the relationships of ATS and its types with PA and ST.Results: In a total of 4128 participants (boy: 50.9%; younger adolescents: 61.9%) included in the final analysis, the proportion of those with ATS was 47.3%. Regarding the types of ATS, walking accounted for over 30%, while cycling was 13.2%. Participants with ATS were more likely to have sufficient PA (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.14-1.39), especially among boys, younger adolescents and those with lower parental education level. However, ATS was not associated with ST (OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.86-1.01). Participants with cycling had higher odds ratio of being physically active (OR for cycling = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.27-1.70; OR for walking = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.06-1.32). The association of ATS types with PA and ST differed by gender, age, geographical location and parental educational level as well as occupations.Conclusions: ATS may be a useful approach to increase PA among adolescents, but this should be explained by individual and parental characteristics.

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