Abstract
BackgroundActive transport (e.g., walking, cycling) to school (ATS) can contribute to children’s physical activity and health. The built environment is acknowledged as an important factor in understanding children’s ATS, alongside parental factors and seasonality. Inconsistencies in methodological approaches exist, and a clear understanding of factors related to ATS remains equivocal. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of associates of children’s ATS, by considering the effects of daily weather patterns and neighbourhood walk ability and neighbourhood preferences (i.e., for living in a high or low walkable neighbourhood) on this behaviour.MethodsData were drawn from the Understanding Relationships between Activity and Neighbourhoods study, a cross-sectional study of physical activity and the built environment in adults and children in four New Zealand cities. Parents of participating children completed an interview and daily trip diary that assessed their child’s mode of travel to school, household and individual demographic information, and parental neighbourhood preference. Daily weather data were downloaded from New Zealand’s national climate database. Geographic information systems-derived variables were calculated for distance to school and neighbourhood walkability. Bivariate analyses were conducted with ATS and potential associates; factors related to ATS at p < 0.20 were considered simultaneously in generalized estimation equation models, and backwards elimination of non-significant factors was conducted; city was treated as a fixed effect in all models.ResultsA total of 217 children aged 6.5-15 years participated in this study. Female sex, age, city, household income, limited/no car access, residing in zone of school, shorter distance to school, neighbourhood self selection, rainfall, and sunlight hours were simultaneously considered in multivariate generalised estimation equation modelling (all p < 0.20 in bivariate analyses). After elimination of non-significant factors, age (p = 0.005), shorter distance to school (p < 0.001), city (p = 0.03), and neighbourhood self selection (p = 0.04) remained significantly associated with ATS in the multivariate analysis.ConclusionDistance to school is the prevailing environmental influencing factor on children’s ATS. This study, in conjunction with previous research, suggests that school siting is likely an important associate of children’s ATS.
Highlights
Active transport to school (ATS) is an important contributor to overall physical activity levels [1,2,3], maintenance of a healthy weight [4,5], and improved cardiovascular risk profiles [6] in children and young people
Children attending schools located in highly walkable areas were 3.63 times more likely to walk to school than those attending schools sited in low walkability settings
There were a total of 101 different schools that children attended; between one and twelve children attended each school, with a median of one child per school found across all study cities (Table 2)
Summary
Active transport to school (ATS) is an important contributor to overall physical activity levels [1,2,3], maintenance of a healthy weight [4,5], and improved cardiovascular risk profiles [6] in children and young people. A range of walkability indices and definitions (e.g., density and connectivity; density, connectivity, and land use mix; urban versus suburban environments) have been linked with active transport and physical activity in adults [18,19,20] and adolescents [21]. This relationship, is not well understood for children and young people. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of associates of children’s ATS, by considering the effects of daily weather patterns and neighbourhood walk ability and neighbourhood preferences (i.e., for living in a high or low walkable neighbourhood) on this behaviour
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