Patrones y determinantes del desplazamiento activo al centro escolar en niños y adolescentes españoles

Zusammenfassung

INTRODUCTION It has been observed that regular practice of physical activity has numerous health benefits. Active commuting to school (walking or cycling) is presented as an alternative to driving in motorized transport (car, bus or motorcycle), and is an opportunity to increase daily physical activity and improve physical fitness in young people. Several studies have reported that might be beneficial for different health outcomes in youth such as mental well-being, academic achievement/cognitive performance or social relationships. AIM The general aim of the present Doctoral Thesis was to study the patterns of commuting to school in Spanish children and adolescents, through three cross-sectional studies, analyzing also the determinants (family, social and environmental) that could be associated with an active mode of commuting to schools. METHODS Study I. A total of 721 families from 4 primary schools (children aged 6-12 years) in the province of Granada participated in this study. Families reported a questionnaire about mode of commuting to school of their children, parents’ occupational activity and mode of commuting to work, distance and travel time to school. Associations between family’s occupational activity and mode of commuting to work with mode of commuting to school of their children were examined using binary logistic regression analysis adjusting for age and children’s distance to school. Study II. A total of 6004 students aged 7-18 years from Spain participated in this study. Mode of commuting was self-reported and distance was objectively measured using Google Maps software. Associations between mode of commuting (active vs. private, public vs. active, public vs. private) were examined using Multilevel mixed model analyses. Study III. Study sample, design and instruments used were the same as in Study II. Associations were examined using Binary logistic regression and ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curves. RESULTS Study I. Family factors are related to mode of commuting to school in children: Children whose both parents did not work (unemployed families) used to engage in higher levels of active commuting to school than children whose parents worked. Children whose parents used active modes to commute to work (employed families) used to engage in higher levels of active commuting to school than those whose both parents used passive modes of commuting to work. Study II. Between 54% and 57% of young people usually commuted actively from home to school. Slightly higher percentages (around 3%) were observed for the way back from school. Active and public modes of commuting were more likely used by older students, so that adolescents aged 16-18 years were statistically significant more likely active commuters and used more the public transportation for going to and from school than children aged 7-9 years, compared with private transport. Study III. The threshold distance for walking to school was 1250 m for the whole sample. It was 875 m for children, and it was higher among urban than in rural participants (1250 m vs. 675 m). Regarding adolescents, the threshold distance for walking to school was 1350 m, and it was lower among urban than in rural participants (1350 m vs. 1550 m). CONCLUSIONS The results obtained from the present Doctoral Thesis inform us that nearly 60% of young people from Spain commute to school by walk mode. In addition, this percentage increase in older youths, in children whose both parents did not work, children whose parents used active modes to commute to work, and students who live closer to school. We believe that these findings will contribute to new and upcoming research in this area, in order to perform effective interventions showing an effect on this behavior in young people, with the main objective of increasing the rates of active commuting to school and as an opportunity to increase the daily physical activity of young people.