School bag weight as a barrier to active transport to school among New Zealand adolescents

Background: Excessive school bag weight is a barrier to active transport to school (ATS). This study examined parents’ and adolescents’ perceptions of school bag weights and actual school bag weights for adolescents in New Zealand. Methods: Parents (n = 331; 76.7% women) completed a survey. Adolescents (n = 682; age 15.1 1.4 years; 57.3% boys) completed a survey, underwent anthropometry, and had their school bags weighed. Results: Overall, 68.3% of parents perceived that adolescents’ school bags were too heavy to carry to school. This parental perception differed by adolescents’ mode of transport to school (active/motorized/combined: 35.1%/78.4%/68.8%, p < 0.001). Adolescents perceived that their school bags were too heavy to carry to walk (57.8%) or cycle (65.8%) to school. Adolescent perceptions differed by mode of transport to school (for walking (active/motorized/combined): 30.9%/69.2%/55.9% agree, p < 0.001; for cycling: 47.9%/72.8%/67.7%; p < 0.001). Actual school bag weight was, on average, 5.6 2.1 kg. Relative school bag weight (% of body weight) was higher for boys and underweight adolescents compared to their counterparts. Neither absolute nor relative school bag weight differed by mode of transport to school. Conclusions: School bag weight was perceived a barrier to ATS and was a greater perceived barrier among users of motorized versus active transport. Perceptions of school bag weights should be considered in future ATS interventions

Differences in parental perceptions of walking and cycling to high school according to distance

Background: Parental perceptions towards different modes of transport correlate with adolescents’ mode choice for school trips. Whether parental attitudes differ for walking versus cycling and/or home-to-school distance is unknown. We compared parental perceptions of walking versus cycling to school in adolescents in Dunedin, New Zealand and examined whether mode-specific barriers differ by distance to school. Methods: Parents (n = 341; age: 47.5 ± 5.2 years; 77.1% females) completed a survey about their adolescent’s (age: 13–18 years; 48.1% boys) school travel and their own perceptions of walking/cycling to school. Participants were categorised into three groups according to distance to school as ‘walkable’ ( 2.25 km), ‘cyclable’ (>2.25– 4.0 km) and ‘beyond cyclable’ (>4.0 km). Results: Common modes of transport to school differed significantly across the ‘walkable’/’cyclable’/’beyond cyclable’ categories (car passenger: 25.7%/40.5%/60.6%; public/ school bus: 5.5%/15.4%/28.4%; walking: 66.2%/28.2%/1.2%; cycling: 0.0%/7.7%/0.5%; all p < 0.001). Compared to walking, parents perceived cycling to school to be less important (walking/cycling: 87.5%/62.5%), with less social support from parents (46.2%/17.1%), peers (20.6%/4.8%) and school (24.5%/12.4%), less interest from adolescents (48.5%/31.9%), fewer cycle paths (26.5%) versus footpaths (65.0%) and more safety concerns (35.0%/64.6%; all p < 0.001). As distance to school increased, parents’ social support decreased whereas personal, environmental and safety-related barriers increased for both modes, with less consistent findings for cycling. Overall, 68.2% of parents expected to participate in adolescents’ walking/cycling to school decision-making. Conclusions: Parents favoured walking compared to cycling to school with parental attitudes for both modes changing with increasing distance to school. The findings illustrate the importance of addressing parental concerns, considering the specificity of walking and cycling and taking into account distance to school in active transport to school initiative

Built environment changes and active transport to school among adolescents:BEATS natural experiment study protocol

Introduction Natural experiments are considered a priority for examining causal associations between the built environment (BE) and physical activity (PA) because the randomised controlled trial design is rarely feasible. Few natural experiments have examined the effects of walking and cycling infrastructure on PA and active transport in adults, and none have examined the effects of such changes on PA and active transport to school among adolescents. We conducted the Built Environment and Active Transport to School (BEATS) Study in Dunedin city, New Zealand, in 2014–2017. Since 2014, on-road and off-road cycling infrastructure construction has occurred in some Dunedin neighbourhoods, including the neighbourhoods of 6 out of 12 secondary schools. Pedestrian-related infrastructure changes began in 2018. As an extension of the BEATS Study, the BEATS Natural Experiment (BEATS-NE) (2019–2022) will examine the effects of BE changes on adolescents’ active transport to school in Dunedin, New Zealand. Methods and analysis The BEATS-NE Study will employ contemporary ecological models for active transport that account for individual, social, environmental and policy factors. The published BEATS Study methodology (surveys, accelerometers, mapping, Geographic Information Science analysis and focus groups) and novel methods (environmental scan of school neighbourhoods and participatory mapping) will be used. A core component continues to be the community-based participatory approach with the sustained involvement of key stakeholders to generate locally relevant data, and facilitate knowledge translation into evidence-based policy and planning

Examining the transport to school patterns of New Zealand adolescents by home-to-school distance and settlement types

Background: Scholarship on active transport to school has largely focused on children, (large) urban areas, the umbrella term of “active transport” which considered walking and cycling together and without taking into account walking and/or cycling distance. This research examined adolescents’ patterns of transport to school in diverse settlement types and in relation to home-to-school distance in the Otago region of Aotearoa New Zealand. Methods: Patterns of transport to school by home-to-school distance, and across school locations, are described for a sample of 2,403 adolescents (age: 15.1 ± 1.4 years; 55% females) attending 23 out of 27 schools in large urban areas (n = 1,309; 11 schools), medium urban areas (n = 265; three schools), small urban areas (n = 652; four schools) and rural settings (n = 177; five schools). Empirical data were collected through an online survey, in which adolescents reported ociodemographic characteristics, travel to school, and perceptions of walking and cycling. Home-to-school distance was measured on the shortest route determined using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based network analysis.  Results: Transport to school patterns differed significantly by home-to-school distance and across settlement types. Profiles of different transport user groups showed significant variability in sociodemographic characteristics, family factors, average distance to school, self-reported physical activity, and perceived health. Conclusions: Initiatives to promote active transport and reduce reliance on car transport to school, whether to improve health and the environment or to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, need to pay closer attention to the settlement types, distance to school, and characteristics of different transport user modes.</p