Abstract
The purpose of this study was to (1) describe children’s walking behaviors in 5th to 7th grade and change over time and (2) examine associations between walking behaviors and Walk Score®. Participants consisted of n = 586 students from the Transitions and Activity Changes in Kids (TRACK) Study. Children reported any walking behavior (e.g., exercise and transportation) over the past five days. Walk Score was calculated based on children’s home address. Descriptive statistics summarized walking behaviors by gender and time, and repeated measure mixed models examined the relationship between walking behaviors and Walk Score. Approximately 46.8% and 19.2% of 5th grade children reported walking for exercise and transportation, respectively, and these percentages declined through 7th grade. Girls reported higher levels of total walking behavior and walking for exercise than boys (p < 0.001). Girls with a higher Walk Score had 63% higher odds of reporting walking for transportation than girls with a lower Walk Score (OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.02, 2.62). Walking behaviors among children were infrequent with significant declines over time, and of the nine associations examined with Walk Score, only one was significant. Efforts should prioritize frequent walking behavior and community design to increase children’s physical activity.
Highlights
In 2015, the Surgeon General released “Step It Up! The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities” [1] to promote physical activity across all ages and abilities in the U.S Walking at a moderate pace has been associated with health benefits for both children and adults, including reducing the risk of chronic disease [2]
40.3% of the children were categorized as black, 36.4% were white, 8.5% were Hispanic, and 14.7% were of a different race/ethnicity
The percentage of children reporting walking for exercise in the past five days was higher in both boys and girls compared to walking for transportation
Summary
In 2015, the Surgeon General released “Step It Up! The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities” [1] to promote physical activity across all ages and abilities in the U.S Walking at a moderate pace has been associated with health benefits for both children and adults, including reducing the risk of chronic disease [2]. The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities” [1] to promote physical activity across all ages and abilities in the U.S Walking at a moderate pace has been associated with health benefits for both children and adults, including reducing the risk of chronic disease [2]. Walkability can be defined as “the extent to which characteristics of the built environment and land use may or may not be conducive to residents in the area walking for either leisure, exercise or recreation, to access services, or to travel to work” [7]. Aspects of the built environment, including neighborhood walkability, have been linked to physical activity in children and youth. According to a 2011 review of the neighborhood environment and physical activity among youth, the most consistent associations were among objectively measured neighborhood environmental Int. J. Public Health 2018, 15, 262; doi:10.3390/ijerph15020262 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
