Walking and Biking to School, Physical Activity and Health Outcomes

Transcription

1 Buildig Evidece to Prevet Childhood Obesity ad Support Active Commuities RESE ARCH brief May 2009 Walkig ad Bikig to School, Physical Activity ad Health Outcomes Over the past few decades, a umber of social ad evirometal chages have limited childre s access to safe places where they ca walk, bike ad play. As a result, childre ad adolescets are less physically active tha they were a geeratio ago. 1 For example, traffic dagers, eighborhoods that lack sidewalks ad urba sprawl have cotributed to a sharp declie i the umber of studets ages 5 to 18 who walk or bike to school, from 42 percet i to oly 13 percet i This decrease i active trasport to school coicided with a alarmig icrease i childhood obesity. Durig the past four decades the obesity rate for childre ages 6 to 11 has more tha quadrupled (from 4.2 to 17 percet), ad the obesity rate for adolescets ages 12 to 19 has more tha tripled (from 4.6 to 17.6 percet). 4,5 Policies ad practices that address evirometal barriers to daily physical activity are critical to prevetig obesity amog childre of all ages, ad supportig active trasport to school presets a excellet opportuity to icrease daily physical activity amog youth. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a federal program that creates safe, coveiet ad fu opportuities for childre to bicycle ad walk to ad from their schools, ad aims to help childre be more physically active. SRTS focuses o icreasig the umber of childre walkig ad bicyclig to school ad improvig pedestria ad bicycle travel by buildig ifrastructure such as sidewalks, crosswalks ad bicycle laes. The program also ecourages chages i travel behavior, supports icreased eforcemet of traffic laws aroud schools ad educates commuities o the beefits ad safety aspects of active trasport. 6 8 This brief summarizes research o active trasport to school, physical activity levels ad health outcomes. It also explores the factors that ifluece walkig ad bikig to school, icludig the impact of SRTS programs.

2 2 Key Research Results Active trasport, physical activity ad health outcomes Elemetary ad middle school-age boys ad girls who walk to ad from school are more physically active overall tha those who travel to school by automobile For example, a study of 1,596 middle school-age girls i six states foud that those who reported walkig before ad after school had 13.7 more miutes of total physical activity tha those who did ot report doig so. 12 Studies geerally fid that studets who walk to ad from school most days of the week have a higher level of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (as measured by accelerometer) compared with studets who icosistetly walk or travel by car, bus or trai. 13, 14 Accordig to a study of South Carolia 5th-graders, those who walked to school five days a week had approximately 24 more miutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day tha those who walked less tha five days or traveled by car. 15 study of elemetary studets foud that baselie body mass idex (BMI) ad skifold A measuremets were lower amog 4th-grade boys who actively commuted to school more tha two days per week tha they were amog boys who did ot. The same result was ot see amog 4th-grade girls. Amog boys ad girls who were followed for two years (durig 4th- ad 5th-grade), chages i BMI or skifolds were ot sigificatly differet based o commutig level. 16 study of 919 childre ad adolescets livig i Demark foud that those who cycled to school A had greater cardiorespiratory fitess (as measured by a cycle ergometer test for youth) tha those who traveled to school by motorized vehicle or walkig. 17 Factors ifluecig active trasport to school Twelve studies from the Uited States ad abroad show that the distace betwee home ad school is the strogest ifluece o whether kids walk or bike to school as travel distace icreases, the umber of childre walkig or bikig decreases For example, a study of 16 Califoria elemetary schools foud that studets livig withi oe mile of school were three times more likely to walk to school tha to travel by automobile. 30 study of SRTS projects at three Califoria schools showed that after the sidewalk system A o their child s route to school was completed, parets reported a 38 percet icrease i how ofte their child walked to school. The same study foud that 75 percet of the studets at oe school were walkig i the road or o the shoulder before the sidewalk was costructed, ad 95 percet of the studets used the sidewalk upo project completio. 31

3 Chage i childre s walk locatio after sidewalk improvemet 32 Percetage of childre walkig o street or shoulder before project Percetage of childre walkig o street or shoulder after project 80 66% 75% Percetage of childre observed % 42% 4% 5% 0 Sheldo Elemetary Valley Elemetary West Radall Elemetary Studets were less likely to walk or bicycle to school if they had to travel alog ad/or cross a road with busy traffic ad o lights or crossig poits, accordig to a study of 19 elemetary schools i Australia. 33 Similarly, the odds of walkig to school decreased by 60 percet amog Califoria elemetary studets if the route to school had traffic travelig over 30 mph. 34 umber of recet studies idicate that eighborhood characteristics such as trails, physical A activity facilities, houses with widows facig the street, walkig or bicyclig access to earby trasit ad mixed lad uses have a positive associatio with active trasport to school study of 259 Seattle parets foud that childre livig i high-icome eighborhoods with A high walkability were twice as likely to walk or bike to school tha were childre i high-icome eighborhoods with low-walkability. The same differece was ot see amog residets livig i low-icome eighborhoods. Walkable eighborhoods are defied as places where residets ca coveietly walk from home to earby destiatios, such as shops. 40 The same Seattle study foud that childre were five times more likely to actively commute to school whe parets had few cocers about traffic dager ad eighborhood safety. 41 Other studies foud that childre with parets who walk regularly ad feel physical activity is importat also are more likely to walk or bike to school Boys are geerally more likely to actively travel to ad from school tha girls. 45 For example, a study of North Carolia middle school studets foud that boys were almost twice as likely to walk to school as girls. 46

4 Coclusio A growig body of research idicates that youth who cosistetly walk ad bike to ad from school are more physically active across the day, ad have higher itesities of physical activity tha those who do ot actively commute to school. Data also show that the physical eviromet has a sigificat ifluece o whether youg people actively commute to school. Fidigs related to the overall impact of walkig ad bikig to school o BMI ad other health outcomes are largely icoclusive at this time. Research i this area would beefit from more cosistet methodologies ad defiitios of active commutig. Data preseted i this brief review of the state of sciece ca iform policies ad programs that aim to support active trasport to school ad a icrease i physical activity amog youth. Proximity of homes ad schools is the most importat ifluece o walkig ad bikig to school. Buildig schools i the middle of eighborhoods would make them more accessible to childre ad may help ecourage walkig ad bikig amog may studets ad families. Programs like Safe Routes to School that iclude ifrastructure chages ad paret-child educatio ca icrease safe ad active travel to school. Neighborhoods that have may facilities for walkig, bikig ad physical activity promote ad support active commutig amog studets. Paretal perceptios of traffic safety, persoal safety ad the importace of physical activity ifluece how likely it is that their childre will walk or bike to school.

5 1 Policy Statemet o the Prevetio of Pediatric Overweight ad Obesity. Elk Grove Village, IL: America Academy of Pediatrics, 2003 Reaffirmed (No authors give.) Available at 2 Trasportatio Characteristics of School Childre: Report No. 4, Natiowide Persoal Trasportatio Study. Washigto, DC: Federal Highway Admiistratio (FHWA), (No authors give.) Natioal Persoal Trasportatio Survey. Washigto: U.S. Departmet of Trasportatio, Federal Highway Admiistratio, (No authors give.) Available at 4 Ogde CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, et al. Prevalece ad Treds i Overweight Amog US Childre ad Adolescets, Joural of the America Medical Associatio, 288(14): , Ogde CL, Carroll MD ad Flegal KM. High Body Mass Idex for Age Amog US Childre ad Adolescets, Joural of the America Medical Associatio, 299(20): , Boaret MG, Aderso C, Day K ad McMilla T. Evaluatio of the Califoria Safe Routes to School Legislatio: Urba Form Chages ad Childre s Active Trasportatio to School. America Joural of Prevetive Medicie, 28(2S2): , Boaret MG, Day K, Aderso C, et al. Ca Urba Plaig Ehace Walkig to School? Evaluatig Califoria s Safe Routes to School Program. Joural of the America Plaig Associatio, 71(3): , Stauto CE, Hubsmith D ad Kallis W. Promote Safe Walkig ad Bikig to School: The Mari Couty Success Story. America Joural of Public Health, 93(9): , Alexader LM, Ichley J, Todd J, et al. The Broader Impact of Walkig to School Amog Adolescets: Seve Day Accelerometry Based Study. British Medical Joural, 331(7524): , Cooper AR, Aderse LB, Wedderkopp N, et al. Physical Activity Levels of Childre Who Walk, Cycle or Are Drive to School. America Joural of Prevetive Medicie, 29(3): , Fulto JE, Shisler JL, Yore MM, Casperse CJ. Active Trasportatio to School: Fidigs From a Natioal Survey. Research Quarterly for Exercise ad Sport, 76(3): , Saksvig BI, Catellier DJ, Pfeiffer K, et al. Travel by Walkig Before ad After School ad Physical Activity Amog Adolescet Girls. Archives of Pediatrics ad Adolescet Medicie, 161(2): , Alexader LM, et al. 14 Saksvig BI, et al. 15 Sirard JR, Rier WF, McIver KL ad Pate RR. Physical Activity ad Active Commutig to Elemetary School. Medicie ad Sciece i Sports ad Exercise, 37(12): , Roseberg DE, Sallis JF, Coway TL, et al. Active Trasportatio to School Over 2 Years i Relatio to Weight Status ad Physical Activity. Obesity, 14(10): , Cooper AR, Wedderkopp N, Wag H, et al. Active Travel to School ad Cardiovascular Fitess i Daish Childre ad Adolescets. Medicie ad Sciece i Sports ad Exercise, 38(10): , Cohe D, Ashwood S, Scott M, et al. Proximity to School ad Physical Activity Amog Middle School Girls: The Trial of Activity for Adolescet Girls Study. Joural of Physical Activity ad Health, 3(S1): S , DiGuiseppi C, Robert I, Li L, Alle D. Determiats of Car Travel o Daily Joureys to School: Cross Sectioal Survey of Primary School Childre. British Medical Joural, 316(7142): 1426, Marti S ad Carlso S. Barriers to Childre Walkig To ad From School: Uited States, Joural of the America Medical Associatio, 294(17): , McDoald NC. Travel ad the Social Eviromet: Evidece from Alameda Couty, Califoria. Trasportatio Research Part D: Trasport ad Eviromet, 12(1): 53 63, McDoald, NC. Critical Factors for Active Trasportatio to School Amog Low-Icome ad Miority Studets Evidece from the 2001 Natioal Household Travel Survey. America Joural of Prevetive Medicie, 34(4): , McMilla TE, Day KM, Boaret MG, et al. Johy Ca Walk to School Ca Jae? Examiig Sex Differeces i Childre s Active Travel to School. Childre, Youth ad Eviromet, 16(1): 75 89, McMilla, TE. The Relative Ifluece of Urba Form o a Child s Trip to School. Trasportatio Research Part A: Policy ad Practice, 41(1): 69 79, 2007.

6 25 Schlossberg M, Greee J, Phillips PP, et al. School Trips: Effects of Urba Form ad Distace o Travel Mode. Joural of the America Plaig Associatio, 72(3): , Timperio A, Ball K, Salmo J, et al. Persoal, Family, Social, ad Evirometal Correlates of Active Commutig to School. America Joural of Prevetive Medicie, 30(1): 45 51, Yeug J, Wearig S, Hills AP. Child Trasport Practices ad Perceived Barriers i Active Commutig to School. Trasportatio Research: Part A, Policy ad Practice, 42(6): , Ziviai J, Scott J, Wadley D. Walkig to School: Icidetal Physical Activity i the Daily Occupatios of Australia Childre. Occupatioal Therapy Iteratioal, 11(1): 1 11, Marti SL, Lee SM ad Lowry R. Natioal Prevalece ad Correlates of Walkig ad Bicyclig to School. America Joural Prevetive Medicie, 33(2): , McMilla TE, Boaret MG, et al. Ca Urba Plaig Ehace Walkig to School? Evaluatig Califoria s Safe Routes to School Program. 32 Ibid. 33 Timperio A, et al. 34 McMilla TE, Eveso KR, Birbaum AS, Bedimo-Rug AL, et al. Girls Perceptio of Physical Evirometal Factors ad Trasportatio: Reliability ad Associatio with Physical Activity ad Active Trasport to School. Iteratioal Joural of Behavioral Nutritio ad Physical Activity, 3(28): 1 16, Kerr J, Roseberg D, Sallis JF, et al. Active Commutig to School: Associatios with Eviromet ad Paretal Cocers. Medicie ad Sciece i Sports ad Exercise, 38(4): , Marti SL, et al. 38 McMilla TE, Timperio A, et al. 40 Kerr J, et al. 41 Ibid. 42 McMilla TE, McMilla TE, Ziviai J, et al. 45 McMilla TE, Eveso KR, Husto SL, McMille, BJ, et al. Statewide Prevalece ad Correlates of Walkig ad Bicyclig to School. Archives of Pediatrics ad Adolescet Medicie, 157(9): , Active Livig Research, a atioal program of the Robert Wood Johso Foudatio, stimulates ad supports research to idetify evirometal factors ad policies that ifluece physical activity for childre ad families to iform effective childhood obesity prevetio strategies, particularly i low-icome ad racial/ethic commuities at highest risk. Active Livig Research wats solid research to be part of the public debate about active livig. This report was prepared by Tracy E. McMilla, Ph.D., MPH, presidet of PPH Parters, with support from the Active Livig Research staff. Peer review was provided by Noree McDoald, Ph.D., Uiversity of North Carolia at Chapel Hill; Joh R. Sirard Ph.D., Uiversity of Miesota; ad Caroly Voorhees, Ph.D., Uiversity of Marylad. Visit www. for a Web-based versio ad other updates. Active Livig Research Sa Diego State Uiversity 3900 Fifth Aveue, Suite 310 Sa Diego, CA