Asociación entre el peso de mochilas escolares con el modo de desplazamiento al colegio y dolor musculoesquelético

The aims of this study were; 1- Analyze the mode of commuting of the school children to school, the weight and type of school bags they were carrying and musculoskeletal pain separately by sex. 2- Analyze the association between weights of school bags with mode of commuting to school. A total of 76 children (8.8 ± 0.3 years, 50% children) participated in the study. The Pediatric Pain questionnaire was used to determine the presence or absence of pain. The PACO questionnaire was used to know the mode of commuting to school. The results showed that the active commuting were higher in boys than girls (p =0.042). In addition, there was a significant association between meeting the school bags weight recommended and active commuting from school to home (OR =3.88, p =0.039). Meeting with the weight of the school bags recommended may favor the non-appearance of musculoskeletal pain and active commuting to school. Los objetivos del estudio fueron; 1- Analizar el modo de desplazamiento de los escolares al colegio, el peso y tipo de mochilas transportadas y dolores músculos-esqueléticos diferenciados por sexo. 2- Analizar la asociación entre el peso de las mochilas con el modo de desplazamiento al colegio. Un total de 76 escolares (8.8±0.3 años, 50% niños) participaron en el estudio. El cuestionario Pediátrico de Dolor sirvió para determinar la presencia o no de dolor. El cuestionario PACO fue utilizado para determinar el modo de desplazamiento al colegio. Los resultados indicaron que las niños se desplazaron más de forma activa que los niñas (p =0.042). Además, existió una asociación significativa entre cumplir con el peso recomendado de las mochilas y el desplazamiento activo del colegio al hogar (OR =3.88, p =0.039). Cumplir con el peso recomendado de las mochilas está asociado a la ausencia de dolor musculo-esquelético y el desplazamiento activo al colegio.

Barriers and Determinants of Active Commuting to School in Slovenia

There is a growing body of literature reporting the health benefits of active commuting to school. This study investigated barriers and determinants of active commuting in children in Slovenia living within walking or cycling distance to school, i.e., 3 km. The sample consisted of 339 children (163 girls) aged 11–14 years who reported their mode of commuting, as well as their parents who described the socioeconomic environment of the family. Every third child in this study traveled to school exclusively by car/public transport, while every fifth participant used a passive means of transport when returning home from school. Potential household poverty, education of the mother and parental encouragement for physical activity were not associated with the commuting mode. In addition, conformist family barriers dominated among reasons for not choosing active commuting. A distance to school that was perceived to be too long was the most frequently cited barrier (72% of participants who passively commuted in both directions), followed by concern about being late for school (38% of participants who passively commute in one direction). Parents from all social strata who drive their children to school in either one or both directions while living in a walking or cycling range are a promising target population for active commuting interventions.

Patterns of Active Commuting to School in Spanish Preschool Children and Its Associations with Socio-Economic Factors: The PREFIT Project

The aims of this study were to describe patterns of active commuting to school (ACS) of preschool children, and to analyse the relationship between ACS and family socio-economic factors. A total of 2636 families of preschoolers (3-to-5 years old) were asked to complete a questionnaire at home about the mode of commuting to school of their children and marital status, educational level, and profession of both father and mother. Chi-square analyses were applied to compare ACS between school grades and gender of the children. To analyse the association of ACS with socio-economic factors, logistic regression analyses were performed. Almost 50% of participants reported ACS of their offspring, with a higher rate in 3rd preprimary grade (5 years old) than in 1st and 2nd preprimary grades (3- and 4-years old. All, p < 0.05). Those preschool children who had parents with lower educational level and no managerial work had higher odds to ACS than those who had parents with higher educational level and managerial work (all, p ≤ 0.001). Around half of the Spanish preschool children included in this study commuted actively to school and families with lower educational levels or worse employment situation were related to active commuting to school.

School-Level Economic Disparities in Police-Reported Crimes and Active Commuting to School

Perceived safety remains one of the main barriers for children to participate in active commuting to school (ACS). This ecological study examined the associations between the number of police-reported crimes in school neighborhoods and ACS. The percentage of active travel trips was assessed from a teacher tally survey collected from students across 63 elementary schools that were primarily classified as high-poverty (n = 27). Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to create a detailed measure of police-reported crimes during 2018 and neighborhood covariates that occurred within a one-mile Euclidean buffer of the schools. Statistical analyses included linear fixed effects regressions and negative binomial regressions. In fully-adjusted models, reported crime did not exhibit significant associations with ACS. Medium-poverty schools were indirectly associated with ACS when compared to high- and low-poverty schools in all models (p < 0.05). Connectivity and vehicle ownership were also directly associated with ACS (p < 0.05). Low- and medium-poverty schools were indirectly associated with all types of reported crime when compared to high-poverty schools (p < 0.05). Although reported crime was not associated with school-level ACS, differences in ACS and reported crime do exist across school poverty levels, suggesting a need to develop and promote safe and equitable ACS interventions.

Beneficios Beneficios y barreras del desplazamiento activo hacia el centro escolar: una revisión sistemática (Benefits and barriers of active commuting to the school center: a systematic review(

La evidencia científica nos muestra cómo la falta de movimiento a lo largo del día puede tener efectos negativos en nuestra salud. Los desplazamientos activos al centro escolar permiten la adquisición de hábitos saludables siguiendo las recomendaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud. El objetivo de este artículo fue realizar una revisión sistemática sobre el estado del arte, en relación con el desplazamiento activo al centro escolar, las barreras existentes y sus beneficios a nivel físico, psicológico y motivacional en las diferentes etapas educativas. El diseño corresponde a una revisión de los estudios previamente publicados entre 2015 y 2020. Para la realización del trabajo se han utilizado las siguientes bases de datos: Web of Science, Pubmed y Scopus. Para la selección de los estudios, se identificaron sólo aquellos que coincidieron con los criterios preestablecidos. De los 25 resultados iniciales, se seleccionaron 13 artículos que cumplían los criterios de elegibilidad preestablecidos con anterioridad. Los resultados mostraron relación positiva entre el desplazamiento activo desde el hogar de residencia hasta el centro de estudios y beneficios asociados con la salud de los practicantes. En contraposición, se asociaron un número importante de barreras las cuales dificultan la elección de un transporte activo hacia las escuelas, institutos y/o universidades. Son necesarias más investigaciones y publicaciones de estudios que clarifiquen de forma específica y detallada los beneficios que reporta en la salud la realización de desplazamientos activos, así como los pasos a seguir en planes para minimizar las barreras que lo dificultan. Abstract. Scientific evidence shows us how a lack of movement throughout the day can have negative effects on our health. Active commuting to school enables the acquisition of healthy habits following the recommendations of the World Health Organization. The purpose of this article was to carry out a systematic review of the state of the art, in relation to active commuting to school, the existing obstacles and its physical, psychological, and motivational benefits at different educational stages. The design corresponds to a review of previous studies published between 2015 and 2020. The databases Web of Science, Pubmed and Scopus were used to carry out the study. For the selection of studies, only those that matched the pre-established standards were identified. From the 25 initial results, 13 articles were selected that met the pre-specified eligibility standards. The results showed a positive relationship between active commuting from home to school and associated health benefits for the practitioners. In contrast, a significant number of barriers were associated with the choice of active commuting to schools, high schools and/or universities. More research and published studies are needed to clarify specifically and detailed the health benefits of active commuting, as well as the steps to be taken in plans to minimize the barriers to active commuting.

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

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.

Children’s Active School Travel: Examining the Combined Perceived and Objective Built-Environment Factors from Space Syntax

Increasing active school travel (AST) among children may provide the required level of daily physical activity and reduce the prevalence of obesity. Despite efforts to promote this mode, recent evidence shows that AST rates continue to decrease in suburban and urban areas alike. The aim of this research study, therefore, is to facilitate our understanding of how objective and perceived factors near the home influence children’s AST in an understudied city, İstanbul, Turkey. Using data from a cross-sectional sample of students aged 12–14 from 20 elementary schools (n = 1802) and consenting parents (n = 843), we applied a nominal logistic regression model to highlight important predictors of AST. The findings showed that street network connectivity (as measured by two novel space syntax measures, metric reach and directional reach) was the main deciding factor for active commuting to school, while parents’ perceptions of condition of sidewalks and shade-casting street trees were moderately significant factors associated with AST. Overall, this study demonstrated the significance of spatial structure of street network around the homes in the potential for encouraging AST, and more importantly, the need to consider objective and perceived environmental attributes when strategizing means to increase this mode choice and reduce ill-health among children.