Active commuting to school among 36,781 Spanish children and adolescents: A temporal trend study

Abstract Background Active commuting to school (ACS) is an important source to increase the total daily physical activity in youth and improve their health. How the ACS rates change along the time is of interest. The objective of this study was to examine trends in the rates of ACS in a large sample of Spanish children and adolescents aged 6–18 years from 2010 to 2017. The study period included the economic crisis in Spain (2008 to 2013) and secondary analysis was conducted to compare ACS rates during and after the economic crisis. Methods To investigate trends in ACS among Spanish children and adolescents, data were obtained from 28 studies conducted across Spain. The study sample comprised 18,343 children (6 to 11.9 years old; 50.5% girls) and 18,438 adolescents (12 to 18 years old; 49.5% girls). The overall trends in ACS were evaluated using multilevel logistic regression analysis. Results The rates of ACS in Spanish children and adolescents did not change significantly during the 2010–2017 period, except a sporadic increase in the rate of ACS in adolescents in 2012–2013. No significant association between the ACS and the economic crisis time period in either children or adolescents were found. These findings are in contrast to recently reported declines in ACS rates in other countries. Conclusions Strong partnerships between researchers, public health practitioners, policy-makers and communities, as well as long-term commitment and evaluations of interventions aiming to increase ACS are necessary to ensure positive results in the long term.

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Active Commute in Relation to Cognition and Academic Achievement in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Future Recommendations

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16245103 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (24) ◽

pp. 5103 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Madhura Phansikar ◽

Sadia Anjum Ashrafi ◽

Naiman A. Khan ◽

William V. Massey ◽

Sean P. Mullen

Keyword(s):

Academic Achievement ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Self Report ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Active Commuting ◽

Active Commuting To School ◽

Wide Range ◽

Active Commute ◽

Age Range ◽

The Relationship

Active commuting to school (ACS) is an important source of physical activity among children. Recent research has focused on ACS and its benefits on cognition and academic achievement (AA), factors important for success in school. This review aims to synthesize literature on the relationship between ACS and cognition or AA among children and adolescents. Peer-reviewed articles in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library assessing ACS with cognition and/or AA among children, until February 2019, were selected. Twelve studies across nine countries (age range 4–18.5 years) were included. One study used accelerometers, whereas all others used self-report measures of ACS. A wide range of objective assessments of cognitive functioning and AA domains were used. Five among eight studies, and four among six found a positive relationship between ACS and cognitive or AA measure, respectively. Four studies found dose–response relationships, and some studies found sex differences. The quantitative analysis found that ACS was not significantly associated with mathematics score (odds ratio = 1.18; CI = 0.40, 3.48). Findings are discussed in terms of methodological issues, potential confounders, and the strength of the evidence. Future studies should conduct longitudinal studies and use objective measures of ACS to understand this relationship further.

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Fiabilidad y viabilidad de un cuestionario autorreportado sobre el modo, tiempo y distancia de desplazamiento en niños y adolescentes (Reliability and feasibility of a self-reported questionnaire on the mode, time and distance of commuting in children an

Retos ◽

10.47197/retos.v37i37.72043 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 379-385

Author(s):

Danica Escobar-Gómez ◽

Fernando Rodriguez-Rodríguez ◽

Emilio Villa-González ◽

Irene Esteban-Cornejo ◽

Palma Chillón

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

High Reliability ◽

Intraclass Correlation ◽

Weighted Kappa ◽

Kappa Coefficient ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Active Commuting ◽

Active Commuting To School ◽

Physical Activity Levels ◽

Para Determinar

El desplazamiento activo al colegio es una oportunidad para incrementar los niveles de actividad física en niños y adolescentes. Sin embargo, la prevalencia de este comportamiento, ha descendido en la última década en la mayoría de países. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo estudiar la fiabilidad y viabilidad de un cuestionario sobre el modo de desplazamiento al/desde el centro educativo en niños y adolescentes. Se estudió la fiabilidad a través del Coeficiente de Kappa, Kappa Ponderado y Coeficiente de Correlación Intraclase (CCI) y su respectivo intervalo de confianza (IC). La muestra estuvo compuesta por 220 escolares de 9 a 18 años (72 niños/as y 148 adolescentes), pertenecientes a la región de Valparaíso en Chile. Se utilizaron 6 preguntas para determinar el desplazamiento al/desde el centro educativo. Se analizó el modo de desplazamiento habitual de ida y de vuelta, los viajes de ida y de vuelta semanales, la distancia y el tiempo de desplazamiento al centro educativo. Los resultados demuestran una alta fiabilidad de las preguntas relacionadas con el modo de desplazamiento habitual tanto para la ida (Kappa=0,91), como para la vuelta (Kappa=0,85), así como para la distancia (Kappa=0,79) y el tiempo del desplazamiento (Kappa=0,74). Los viajes de ida y vuelta semanales presentan un CCI muy bueno (de 0,79 a 0,98). Este cuestionario, es un instrumento viable y presenta una fiabilidad de buena a muy buena para evaluar tal comportamiento en niños y adolescentes.Abstract. Active commuting to school is an opportunity to increase physical activity levels in children and adolescents. However, the prevalence of this behavior continues to decline in the last decade in most countries. This research aims to study the reliability and feasibility of a questionnaire of commuting to/from school in children and adolescents. The study of reliability through the Kappa Coefficient, Weighted Kappa and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and its respective confidence interval (CI). The sample consisted of 220 students aged 9-18 years (72 children and 148 adolescents), from the Valparaíso region of Chile. Six questions were used to determine the behavior of commuting to/from school); the habitual mode of commuting to school; the habitual mode of commuting from school, weekly round trips, distance and time of commuting to school. The results showed a high reliability of the questions related to the habitual mode of commuting to/from school [(Kappa = 0, 91 and (0, 85, respectively)], as well as for distance (Kappa = 0,79) and time of commuting (Kappa = 0,74). The weekly round trips have a very good Intraclass Correlate Coefficient (ranging from 0,79 to 0,98). This version of the commuting to/from school questionnaire is a feasibility instrument and shows a high reliability to assess such behavior in children and adolescents.

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Active commuting to school in children and adolescents: An opportunity to increase physical activity and fitness

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1403494810384427 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 38 (8) ◽

pp. 873-879 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

Palma Chillón ◽

Francisco B. Ortega ◽

Jonatan R. Ruiz ◽

Toomas Veidebaum ◽

Leila Oja ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Active Commuting ◽

Active Commuting To School

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Children and Parental Barriers to Active Commuting to School: A Comparison Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18052504 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 2504

Author(s):

María Jesús Aranda-Balboa ◽

Palma Chillón ◽

Romina Gisele Saucedo-Araujo ◽

Javier Molina-García ◽

Francisco Javier Huertas-Delgado

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Traffic Safety ◽

Categorical Variables ◽

Active Commuting ◽

Comparison Study ◽

Chi Square ◽

Active Commuting To School ◽

Children And Parents ◽

Logistic Regressions ◽

Parental Barriers

The main objectives of this study were: to compare the barriers to active commuting to and from school (ACS) between children and their parents separately for children and adolescents; and to analyze the association between ACS and the children’s and parents’ barriers. A total of 401 child–parent pairs, from Granada, Jaén, Toledo and Valencia, self-reported, separately, their mode of commuting to school and work, respectively, and the children’s barriers to ACS. T-tests and chi-square tests were used to analyze the differences by age for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Binary logistic regressions were performed to study the association between ACS barriers of children and parents and ACS. Both children and adolescents perceived higher physical and motivational barriers and social support barriers towards ACS than their parents (all p < 0.05). Additionally, the parents perceived higher distance, traffic safety, convenience, built environment, crime-related safety and weather as barriers towards ACS, than their children (all p < 0.05). Moreover, a higher perception of barriers was related to lower ACS. The results of our study showed the necessity of attenuating the perceptions of children and their parents in order to increase ACS. This is relevant to develop interventions in the specific contexts of each barrier and involving both populations.

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Trends in active commuting to school from 2003 to 2017 among children and adolescents from Germany: the MoMo Study

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa141 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Anne K Reimers ◽

Isabel Marzi ◽

Steffen C E Schmidt ◽

Claudia Niessner ◽

Doris Oriwol ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Active Transport ◽

Parental Influence ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Economic Status ◽

Age Groups ◽

Active Commuting ◽

Measurement Point ◽

Active Commuting To School ◽

Socio Demographic Factors

Abstract Background Inactivity in children and adolescents is a global issue requiring interventions that target different domains of physical activity, such as active transport. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence, historical trends and socio-demographic correlates of active commuting to school (ACS) in a nationwide sample of girls and boys from Germany. Methods Data of commuting behaviour and socio-demographic factors were collected, covering three measurement points from 2003 to 2017. The MoMo Study derived its data from a representative sample of children and adolescents aged 4–17 years who answered a questionnaire (N = 11 387). Statistically significant differences between Baseline, Wave 1 and Wave 2 were determined via 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for complex samples. Results Overall, ACS decreased from 84.4% at the first measurement point to 78.3% in the third measurement point. The proportion of cases in which children opted for passive modes of commuting increased predominantly in those aged 4–5 years, in children with a low-to-medium socio-economic status, and in children residing in small- or medium-sized towns. No gender differences were found in active commuting. The results of multinomial logistic regression identified age, migration background and residential area as correlates of walking for boys. For girls, the likelihood of walking, cycling and taking public transport instead of opting for motorized transport increased with age. Conclusions Intervention programmes to increase active transport in children and adolescents should target different age groups and also consider parental influence in determining the child’s choice of transport mode.

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