Abstract
Children’s health status is related to their physical activity levels. Active commuting is associated with higher physical activity and reduced risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease incidence, and diabetes. The objective of this research was to study the levels of physical activity and the commuting to school (active vs. passive) in Spanish nine-year-old children, analyzing the differences by gender and by the geographical environment where they live (rural or urban environment). Accelerometry was used for the measurement of physical activity: Sedentary time (min/day), vigorous physical activity (min/day), moderate to vigorous physical activity (min/day), intensity (counts/min), steps (number). The questionnaire of the European Youth Heart Study (EYHS) was used to determine the geographical environment (city/urban, residential area/outside city, rural/village) and the modes of transport (active: Walking and bicycle, passive: Car, motorcycle, public transport). A total of 455 Spanish nine-year-old children (247 girls and 208 boys) belonging to the EYHS participated in this study. The results showed that boys were significantly more physically active than girls (p ≤ 0.001). Results also showed that active commuting to school was positively correlated with the levels of physical activity (r = 0.324, p ≤ 0.001). The geographical environment influenced the way in which children went to school, being active commuting to school significantly (p ≤ 0.001) less frequent in those children who lived in a rural environment (22.4%) than in those who lived in the city (57.1%) or in a residential area (62.7%). As active commuting to school means increasing levels of physical activity in both sexes, strategies should be implemented in order to encourage active commuting to schools, contributing at the same time to better health and sustainability of future generations.
Highlights
Active commuting to and from school, in opposition to passive commuting, has been proposed as a way to increase physical activity in children and adolescents [1,2,3,4], with the purpose of preventing cardiovascular diseases that are associated with higher mortality [5,6,7]
Regarding the distribution of the sample by type of commuting to school and geographical environment, it was noteworthy that active commuting to school was significantly (p ≤ 0.001) less frequent in those children who lived in a rural environment (22.4%) than in those who lived in the city (57.1%) or in a residential area (62.7%)
One possible explanation for these low values is that the time for commuting to school is lower than one hour. This low time dedicated to moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) at the time of commuting to school is an excellent opportunity to increase the weekly time of physical activity of schoolchildren, as we found in our results with the significant positive correlations between the daily MVPA and the MVPA during commuting to school (r = 0.324, p ≤ 0.001), and between the daily MVPA and the steps during commuting to school (r = 0.245, p ≤ 0.001)
Summary
Active commuting to and from school (walking or by bicycle), in opposition to passive commuting (such as motorized transportation), has been proposed as a way to increase physical activity in children and adolescents [1,2,3,4], with the purpose of preventing cardiovascular diseases that are associated with higher mortality [5,6,7]. A recent review [8] on interventions to promote active school transport, highlighted the use of active commuting to school as an opportunity to increase children’s physical activity levels. Hinckson et al [13] indicated that distance to school was an important factor related to physical activity levels, where 1 to 2 km from school together with active commuting could be useful to counteract children’s sedentary behaviors. For physically active children, active commuting does not seem to be as relevant
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
