School Commute Research Articles

Association between different contexts of physical activity and abdominal obesity and excess weight in adolescents.

Abstract Aim: To investigate the association between different contexts of physical activity (school commuting, participation in Physical Education classes, school recess, physical activity to improve muscular strength / endurance and overall physical activity) with abdominal obesity and excess weight in adolescents. Method: Cross-sectional study with 1,132 adolescents (14-19 years), enrolled in public schools in Sao Jose, Brazil. Information regarding the contexts of physical activity was obtained through questionnaires. The anthropometric indicators used to identify excess weight and abdominal obesity were body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Binary logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: Adolescents who actively commuted to school for 10 minutes or longer were 36% less likely (OR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.58 a 0.71) of having abdominal obesity investigated by WC and 25% less likely (OR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.65 a 0.86) of having excess weight investigated by means of BMI. The other physical activity contexts were not associated with anthropometric indicators. Conclusion: Active commuting to school was associated with lower odds of having abdominal obesity and excess weight in adolescents. Thus, active commuting to school can be an alternative for maintaining adequate levels of body composition.

School Siting and Walkability: Experience and Policy Implications in California

Author(s): Vincent, Jeffrey M.; Miller, Ruth; Dillon, Lianne | Abstract: Active School Commuting (ASC) and K-12 school siting policies and practices have garnered increased attention in recent years from the planning and public health fields. Of central concern is that, too often, new school siting choices contribute to sprawl and inhibit active transportation to school because they are located far from where students live and/or lack surrounding pedestrian-oriented street characteristics. California has made state policy strides in actively promoting healthy communities, which has included an interest in ensuring communities and school sites are more walkable. To inform this policy area, this study measures the walkability around a sample of schools sited and constructed in six high-growth counties in California from 2003-2011. As California looks to implement a Health in All Policies approach into state decision making (Executive Order S-04-10), and weave health, equity, and environmental sustainability into more policies, a better understanding of the relationship between school siting and walkability is needed, particularly considering that the state provides funds to school districts for new school construction projects. Amidst these state health-promoting efforts, there is not clarity on how walkable newly sited schools are. Our research with this study addresses this gap. Our findings show that the proportion of new schools sited in our study period in California that could be considered objectively walkable by American urban standards is small. Thus, it does seem that state policy actions that would increase the number of walkability around schools may be needed to realize broader healthy community objectives. Local inter-agency and inter-jurisdictional collaboration can likely realize co-benefits that lead to healthy, sustainable communities with improved educational opportunities. Clarity in state policies, guidance, and funding priorities would likely improve collaborative local planning for better outcomes in health, education, and sustainability, which, in turn, maximize investments across sectors. We add to these findings a discussion of recent policy efforts to improve school siting outcomes in California such that they are promoting health and walkability.

A Study on Effective Implementation of Mobility Management Contributing to Securing Utilization of School Commute

本研究では、地方部において通学生を対象としたモビリティ・マネジメントを効果的に実施する方法を明らかにすることを目的に、弘南鉄道大鰐線において平成27年度から2か年にわたって、公共交通による通学利用の確保に向けたトラベルフィードバックプログラムを実施した。その結果として、公共交通サービスレベルを現状のまま改善しなかった場合でも、生徒の保護者を対象とした公共交通の利用促進、および保護者と生徒との話し合いを通じたプログラムは、送迎通学の抑制に一定の効果があることが示された。加えて、プログラムの実施にあたっての方法として、送迎通学における非個人的・社会的デメリットを十分に伝えることが効果的であることも確認された。

The Cost of School Consolidation Policy: Implications from Decomposing School Commuting Distances in Yanqing, Beijing

School consolidation may be an effective policy option in regions where demand for schooling is thin—after taking into account its effects on the school commuting distance, the education quality and economies of scale. The effects of consolidation on the educational quality and the economies of scale have been well researched; but studies on the commuting distance are limited in scope because they usually rely on comparing distances pre- and post-consolidation—which may exaggerate the consolidation’s effect. In this study, optimization approaches are used to decompose school commuting distances at Yanqing, Beijing, based on survey data. The costs of long-distance school commuting as a result of consolidation are estimated after decomposing the effects of school districting, school location and financial stimulation. The findings indicate that these factors contribute significantly to pupils’ long travel distance, and the negative effect of consolidation on school size standardization is exaggerated. These results imply that long-distance school commuting should not be the rationale for a suspension of the central government’s consolidation policy.

Fitness, Fatness and Active School Commuting among Liverpool Schoolchildren.

This study investigated differences in health outcomes between active and passive school commuters, and examined associations between parent perceptions of the neighborhood environment and active school commuting (ASC). One hundred-ninety-four children (107 girls), aged 9–10 years from ten primary schools in Liverpool, England, participated in this cross-sectional study. Measures of stature, body mass, waist circumference and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) were taken. School commute mode (active/passive) was self-reported and parents completed the neighborhood environment walkability scale for youth. Fifty-three percent of children commuted to school actively. Schoolchildren who lived in more deprived neighborhoods perceived by parents as being highly connected, unaesthetic and having mixed land-use were more likely to commute to school actively (p < 0.05). These children were at greatest risk of being obese and aerobically unfit (p < 0.01). Our results suggest that deprivation may explain the counterintuitive relationship between obesity, CRF and ASC in Liverpool schoolchildren. These findings encourage researchers and policy makers to be equally mindful of the social determinants of health when advocating behavioral and environmental health interventions. Further research exploring contextual factors to ASC, and examining the concurrent effect of ASC and diet on weight status by deprivation is needed.

Air Pollution Exposure during School Commutes

Background Understanding of how school location impacts children’s air pollution exposure and the ability of children to walk and bike to school has been a policy issue of interest in recent years. Smart growth advocates encourage districts to locate schools in “walkable” locations, often near high-volume roadways while health professionals emphasize the importance of minimizing near-roadway exposure and support decisions to distance school locations from major roadways. As states implement laws to site schools away from high-volume roadways, such policies often lead to school locations that are disconnected from neighborhoods and accessible only by motorized transport modes. This study analyzes children’s air pollution exposure during school travel and during the school day and assesses exposure for children walking to a nearby school in a heavy diesel/heavy traffic area compared to their exposure if they were required to be bussed or driven to a remote school located in a low diesel/low traffic environment. Methods Researchers selected two neighborhoods with different air quality environments – heavy-diesel/heavy-traffic and low-diesel/low-traffic – with a synthetic sample of students. Home-to-school commuting routes were created for three modes: walk, automobile, and school bus. Air pollution exposure along each route was estimated using models developed from the Near-Road Exposures and Effects of Urban Air Pollutants (NEXUS) study, which are calibrated to capture conditions in 2010 during typical school travel periods for the Detroit metropolitan area. Daily average exposures for pollutant NOx were estimated by breaking the average school day into 5 phases (AM Commute, Unload, School Day, Load, PM Commute). Results Commuting exposure to NOx for all modes was lower for children at the low-diesel/low-traffic school than those at the high-diesel school. When children were driven or bussed outside of their neighborhood to the more distant, low-diesel school, time-weighted daily average cumulative NOx exposure was the greatest at ~340 μg/m3 if bussed and ~175 μg/m3 if driven (compared to 190 and 152 respectively if they had taken these modes to their local high-diesel neighborhood school). Conclusions Local school environments still largely drive the daily cumulative exposures to air pollutants among children; however, the exposures during school commutes are not negligible. In particular, our simulated implementation of policies that use buses to transport children to better air quality environments found no association with net reductions in daily exposure.

Active School Travel the Associations between Perceptions of Road Safety and Active Travel for School Children and Their Parents - a Health Needs Assessment

This Health Needs Assessment focuses on children aged 5–15 years old who attend primary or secondary school in Leicestershire and Rutland (maintained, free and academy). The aim was to understand the perceptions of road safety and road traffic injuries associated with active school travel and how closely these match the real risk in terms of road traffic accidents occurring on the school commute and the benefits in terms of increased physical activity in children. An epidemiological review and literature review of national and local data was undertaken using information regarding demography, active school travel, walk time to schools, police reported accidents, physical activity and obesity. Stakeholder views were gathered through an electronic active school travel survey and qualitative focus groups with schools in Leicestershire and Rutland. Qualitative focus group sessions took place in four schools across Leicestershire and Rutland (2 primary, 2 secondary) with a total of 13 teachers, 48 students and 21 parents taking part. A large proportion of primary school pupils in Leicestershire and Rutland potentially could travel to school actively based on walking times less than 30 minutes. However this proportion is reduced for secondary schools, particularly in Rutland, where mixed mode transport may be necessary. Focus groups and an online survey of schools identified a number of barriers and enablers involved in active school travel. The main barriers included the distance, weather, attitudes, safety, and time logistics. Enablers included awareness, attitudes of staff students and pupils, logistics and facilities, travel share schemes, school travel plans and sharing good practice. Safety perceptions of children who responded to the travel survey were higher for their current mode used to get to school than other modes, which may prevent uptake. The literature review highlighted evidence for a number of effective interventions and suggests that a programme of work will be required to change school travel behaviour and increase active travel mode choice. A variety of interventions are provided currently across Leicestershire and Rutland, however awareness, capacity, access and future resources are variable and uncertain. From the evidence reviewed and the gaps identified a number of recommendations are made. A multiagency group including transport, public health, schools and safety partners as a minimum should be convened who are responsible for developing a policy on active school travel to address the policy recommendations. There are further commissioning recommendations for schools, local authorities, CCGs and the LLR Road safety partnership to consider.

School travel mode choice in Beijing, China

This study explores school travel mode choice behavior of 7–18year-old students in Beijing, China, based on the data collected in Fifth Travel Survey of Beijing Inhabitants. The integration of tree-based and logit-based models is employed to examine the influence of key variables on school travel mode choice. In particular, the tree-based model is used to preliminarily select the traits which have a statistical effect on mode choice, and the logit-based model is used to provide deeper understanding of the underlying decision processes and the correlation effects of the variables. Results show that car ownership, poor walking/cycling environment, and adults' convenience for escorting students significantly stimulate the use of cars in school commuting. Students are more inclined to choose cars when their departure time is at rush hour compared to the other time. Moreover, the longer distance encourages the use of motorized transport, where the households with local hukou (usually related to the car ownership and other welfares) are more willing to drive their children to school. A number of recommendations on car restraint, sustainable travel environment improvement, different working hour implementing, and educational resources layout for the encouragement and promotion of sustainable travel practices are lastly proposed.

비콘을 활용한 통학 시스템 설계

비콘을 활용한 통학 시스템 설계

From sedentary to active school commute: Multi-level factors associated with travel mode shifts.

Previous research has examined personal, social, and environmental correlates of active commuting to school, but most were cross-sectional and mode choice studies. This exploratory case study utilized a retrospective natural experiment opportunity, where a group of students transferred to a new school, and therefore experienced changes in their home-to-school travel environments. It examined whether such changes led to mode shifts from sedentary (car or school bus) to active (walking and bicycling) and what factors were associated with those shifts. Retrospective parental survey data (n=165, response rate=46%) were collected in 2011 from a new elementary school that opened in 2010 in Austin, Texas. The survey asked about the child's school travel mode and parental perceptions of home-to-school travel environments before and after the transfer, as well as personal and social factors. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to predict the odds of shifting from sedentary to active modes, using personal, social, and physical environmental variables. Sixty-eight (41.2%) respondents reported a sedentary-to-active mode shift for school commuting. Such shifts were associated with changes in school travel environments (e.g., shorter travel distance, improved safety, and decreased availability of bike lanes/paths) and relevant programs/services (e.g., increase in walking-promotion programs, and decrease in school bus service due to shortened distances). Targeting the current sedentary mode users is important to bring health benefits through increased physical activity and environmental benefits from reduced automobile use. Sedentary-to-active mode shifts may be encouraged by providing walking-promotion programs and by reducing travel distances and safety threats en route to school.

The impact of cycle proficiency training on cycle-related behaviours and accidents in adolescence: findings from ALSPAC, a UK longitudinal cohort.

BackgroundCycle accidents are a common cause of physical injury in children and adolescents. Education is one strategy to reduce cycle-related injuries. In the UK, some children undertake National Cycle Proficiency Scheme [NCPS] training (now known as Bikeability) in their final years of primary school. It aims to promote cycling and safe cycling behaviours but there has been little scientific evaluation of its effectiveness.MethodsThe sample (n = 5415) were participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children who reported whether or not they had received NCPS training. Outcomes were self-reported at 14 and 16 years: cycling to school, ownership of cycle helmet, use of cycle helmet and high-visibility clothing on last cycle, and involvement in a cycle accident. An additional outcome, hospital admittance due to a cycle accident from 11 to 16 years, was also included for a subsample (n = 2222) who have been linked to Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data.ResultsApproximately 40 % of the sample had received NCPS training. Trained children were more likely to cycle to school and to own a cycle helmet at both 14 and 16 years, to have worn a helmet on their last cycle at age 14, and to have worn high-visibility clothing at age 16, than those who had not attended a course. NCPS training was not associated with self-reported involvement in a cycle accident, and only six of those with HES data had been admitted to hospital due to a cycle accident. Irrespective of training, results indicate very low use of high-visibility clothing, very few girls cycling as part of their school commute, and less than half of helmet owners wearing one on their last cycle.ConclusionsOur results suggest cycle training courses for children can have benefits that persist into adolescence. However, the low use of cycle helmets, very low use of high-visibility clothing, and low levels of cycling to school for girls, indicate the further potential for interventions to encourage cycling, and safe cycling behaviours, in young people.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3138-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Gender Differences in School and Work Commuting Mode Through the Life Cycle: Exploring Trends in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, 1986 to 2011

Reducing auto dependence and increasing the use of active and sustainable modes of transportation for school and work travel are necessary for alleviating traffic congestion issues that are typical in today’s North American cities and regions. While there is a growing interest in increasing the use of active and sustainable modes of travel for commuter trips in transportation planning, less attention has been paid in practice to gender differences in travel demand. This descriptive study explores gender differences in active transportation, public transit, and automobile use through the life cycle to assess temporal changes in gendered transport over the past 25 years in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area, Canada. Findings suggest that female children and youths are driven to school more frequently than males; however, males drive more than females during the years of labor force participation. Differences between female and male automobile use increase with age, but the gender gap has declined since the mid-1980s. Factors such as having one vehicle per household, more than six household members, and living and working in the city of Toronto are shown to associate with the largest differences in driving between full-time employed women and men. Distances between home and work have increased, particularly for women, and the percentage of women with a driver’s license has increased. Although driving remains higher for men than women during the part of the life course that includes labor force participation, the gender gap in active transportation, public transit, and automobile use appears to be lower today than in the mid-1980s.

Road traffic injuries to children during the school commute in Hyderabad, India: cross-sectional survey

BackgroundIndia is motorising rapidly. With increasing motorisation, road traffic injuries are predicted to increase. A third of a billion children travel to school every day in India, but little is...

Association Between Student Purchases of Beverages During the School Commute and In-School Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, San Francisco Bay Area, 2013.

IntroductionConsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) such as sodas, fruit-flavored drinks, and sports drinks is a major contributor to childhood obesity. One strategy to reduce children’s SSB consumption has been to restrict the sale of SSBs in schools. However, such policies may not sufficiently curb students’ SSB intake, because students can obtain SSBs elsewhere, including from stores located on their school commute. Little is known about students’ purchases of beverages during the school commute or about whether this purchasing behavior is related to in-school SSB consumption. The objective of this study was to describe where students from low-income, ethnically diverse communities obtain the SSBs they drink during school lunchtime and to examine whether students who purchase beverages while traveling to and from school are more likely to drink SSBs during school lunchtime.MethodsWe analyzed survey data from a random sample of low-income, ethnically diverse middle school students (N = 597) who participated in a randomized controlled trial of a water promotion intervention. We used logistic regression analysis to examine the association between students’ purchase of beverages during the school commute and their SSB consumption during school lunchtime.ResultsOne-fifth (20.4%) of students drank an SSB during lunch. Approximately 23% of SSBs were obtained during the school commute. Students who reported buying beverages during their school commute (50.1% of all students) were more likely to report drinking SSBs during lunch than students who reported that they do not buy beverages during the school commute (adjusted odds ratio 3.32, 95% confidence interval, 2.19–5.05, P < .001).ConclusionStudents’ purchase of beverages during the school commute was strongly associated with SSB consumption during school lunchtime. Interventions could benefit from focusing on retail environments (eg, encouraging retailers to promote healthy beverages, posting beverage calorie information).

Living within a Walkable Distance to School and School Socioeconomic Factors Determine Active Commuting (ISCOLE-US)

PURPOSE: Active school commuting (walking or biking) promotes favorable body composition and better cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness compared to passive commuting; however, few children actively commute to school. The purpose of this study was to examine how home-school distance impacts active commuting behavior. METHODS: A total of 651 children aged 9-11 years from 21 schools around Baton Rouge, LA participated in the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE). Children self-reported their mode of commuting to school in the past week, which was dichotomized as active vs. passive. Geographic informations systems were used to calculate route lengths between schools and children’s residences. Generalized linear mixed models (students within schools) evaluated associations adjusted for school socioeconomic status (SES) and family vehicle ownership. RESULTS: Only 10.9% of children reported actively commuting to school, and 9.6% lived within a walkable distance to school (≤0.5 miles). 70% of children living within 0.5 miles of school reported actively commuting, compared to only 4.6% of children who live over 0.5 miles (OR=1.9; 95%CI:1.7-2.0), although this differed across school SES categories (p for interaction = 0.01). Among children living within 0.5 miles of school, 87% from the lowest SES schools reported actively commuting, compared to 54% from the highest SES schools. CONCLUSIONS: Living within a walkable distance to school facilitates active commuting, but not all children take advantage of this opportunity. A better understanding of barriers for children living within a walkable distance of schools may inform interventions to increase active school commuting.

Association Between Student Purchases of Beverages During the School Commute and In-School Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, San Francisco Bay Area, 2013

Association Between Student Purchases of Beverages During the School Commute and In-School Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, San Francisco Bay Area, 2013

Passive commuting and dietary intake in fourth and fifth grade students.

Promoting active commuting by walking or biking to and from school could increase physical activity and reduce obesity among youth. However, exposure to the retail food environment while commuting may lead to greater dietary intake among active commuters. To examine the relationship between commute patterns and dietary intake and quality in elementary students. Fourth and fifth grade students (N=3,316) in 44 California schools reported commute modes to and from school and dietary intake for the same 24-hour period in 2012. Differences between active and passive commuters in total energy intake (kcal), energy from purchased foods, and energy from sweets and snack-type foods were compared, stratified by after-school program (ASP) participation (analysis conducted in 2013). Twenty-three percent of youth actively commuted to school; 27% actively commuted from school. Passive commuters, 87% of whom traveled by car, consumed 78 more kcal from purchased foods (p<0.01) than active commuters in the 24-hour period, though total energy intake did not differ by commute mode overall or by ASP participation. Among the 72% of students who did not attend an ASP, passive commuters consumed 56 more kcal from purchased foods (p<0.01) and 25 more kcal from sweets and snack-type foods (p=0.02) than active commuters. Passive commuters consumed more sweets and snack-type foods and more purchased foods than active commuters. These results, which suggest that parents are providing unhealthy foods for their children during the school commute, reinforce the need for multilevel strategies to promote energy balance in youth.

The physical environment and health-enhancing activity during the school commute: global positioning system, geographical information systems and accelerometry.

Active school travel is in decline. An understanding of the potential determinants of health-enhancing physical activity during the school commute may help to inform interventions aimed at reversing these trends. The purpose of this study was to identify the physical environmental factors associated with health-enhancing physical activity during the school commute. Data were collected in 2009 on 166 children commuting home from school in Scotland. Data on location and physical activity were measured using global positioning systems (GPS) and accelerometers, and mapped using geographical information systems (GIS). Multi-level logistic regression models accounting for repeated observations within participants were used to test for associations between each land-use category (road/track/path, other man-made, greenspace, other natural) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Thirty-nine children provided 2,782 matched data points. Over one third (37.1%) of children's school commute time was spent in MVPA. Children commuted approximately equal amounts of time via natural and man-made land-uses (50.2% and 49.8% respectively). Commuting via road/track/path was associated with increased likelihood of MVPA (Exp(B)=1.23, P <0.05), but this association was not seen for commuting via other manmade land-uses. No association was noted between greenspace use and MVPA, but travelling via other natural land-uses was associated with lower odds of MVPA (Exp(B)=0.32, P <0.05). Children spend equal amounts of time commuting to school via man-made and natural land-uses, yet man-made transportation route infrastructure appears to provide greater opportunities for achieving health-enhancing physical activity levels.

Commuter Mobility and the Spread of Infectious Diseases: Application to Influenza in France

Commuting data is increasingly used to describe population mobility in epidemic models. However, there is little evidence that the spatial spread of observed epidemics agrees with commuting. Here, using data from 25 epidemics for influenza-like illness in France (ILI) as seen by the Sentinelles network, we show that commuting volume is highly correlated with the spread of ILI. Next, we provide a systematic analysis of the spread of epidemics using commuting data in a mathematical model. We extract typical paths in the initial spread, related to the organization of the commuting network. These findings suggest that an alternative geographic distribution of GP accross France to the current one could be proposed. Finally, we show that change in commuting according to age (school or work commuting) impacts epidemic spread, and should be taken into account in realistic models.

Examining Long-Term Impact of California Safe Routes to School Program

California was the first state to legislate a Safe Routes to School (SR2S) program under Assembly Bill 1475 (1999). SR2S funds construction projects that make it safer for children to walk or bicycle to school and encourages a greater number of children to choose these modes of travel for the school commute. The main goal of this project was to assess the long-term impact of program-funded engineering modifications on walking and bicycling levels and safety. Improvements were evaluated with a targeted method to determine the countermeasures that resulted in safety and mode shift. The major results indicated that the safety of pedestrians increased within 250 ft of an infrastructure improvement, such as a sidewalk. There was also evidence of mode shift near improvements. Positive results for safety and mobility, as well as improved data collection for funded programs, should make SR2S programs competitive among other transportation needs.