The contribution of active travel (walking and cycling) in children to overall physical activity levels: A national cross sectional study

摘要

Objective: To assess the contribution of active travel to and from school to children's overall physical activity levels in England. Method: Logistic regression models examining associations between active travel (walked, or cycled, to/from school at least once in the last week) and achievement of physical activity recommendations (≥ 60 min/d daily) in 4,468 children aged 5-15y (303 with valid accelerometry data) participating in the nationally-representative Health Survey for England 2008. Results: The 64% of children who walked and the 3% who cycled to/from school were more active than the 33% who did neither. Typical walkers came from a deprived area and were less likely to have a limiting illness; typical cyclists were older, male, and most likely to meet the recommendations. For self-reported activity, time spent cycling to/from school contributed more to meeting the recommendations (OR1.31, 1.09-1.59) than time spent walking to/from school (OR1.08, 1.02-1.15) or in sports (OR1.17, 95% CI 1.14-1.20). Time spent walking to school (OR1.80, 1.41-2.30) and in sports (OR1.10, 1.01-1.20) were significantly associated with being in the highest tertile actigraph-measured activity. Conclusion: Children who reported walking or cycling to school were more active. Longitudinal studies are required to ascertain whether encouraging active travel affects less active children.