Mode shifting in school travel mode: examining the prevalence and correlates of active school transport in Ontario, Canada

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies examining the correlates of school transport commonly fail to make the distinction between morning and afternoon school trips. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of mode shift from passive in the morning to active in the afternoon among elementary and secondary school students in Ontario, Canada.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were derived from the 2009 cycle of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS). 3,633 students in grades 7 through 12 completed self-administered questionnaires. Socio-demographic, behavioural, psychological, and environmental predictors of active school transport (AST) were assessed using logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, 47% and 38% of elementary school students reported AST to and from school, respectively. The corresponding figures were 23% and 32% for secondary school students. The prevalence of AST varied temporarily and spatially. There was a higher prevalence of walking/biking found for elementary school students than for secondary school students, and there was an approximate 10% increase in AST in the afternoon. Different correlates of active school transport were also found across elementary and secondary school students. For all ages, students living in urban areas, with a shorter travel time between home and school, and having some input to the decision making process, were more likely to walk to and from school.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Future research examining AST should continue to make the analytic distinction between the morning and afternoon trip, and control for the moderating effect of age and geography in predicting mode choice. In terms of practice, these variations highlight the need for school-specific travel plans rather than 'one size fits all' interventions in promoting active school transport.</p

Extra-curricular physical activity and socioeconomic status in Italian adolescents

BACKGROUND: The relationship between physical activity and health status has been thoroughly investigated in several studies, while the relation between physical activity and socio-economic status (SES) is less investigated. The aim of this study was to measure the extra-curricular physical activity of adolescents related to the socio-economic status (SES) of their families. METHODS: The survey was carried out by submitting an anonymous questionnaire to junior high school students in the following Regions: Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, during the school year 2002–2003. Extra-curriculum physical activity was evaluated considering whether or not present and hours of activity weekly conducted. 2411 students agreed to participate in the study. RESULTS: Participants were 1121 males (46.5%) and 1290 females (53.5%), aged between 11 and 17 years (median age: 12 years). 71.1% of the students reported to practice extra-curricular physical activity. Parents' educational levels and work activities play an important role in predicting students' physical activity, with the more remunerative activities and higher educational levels being more predictive. CONCLUSION: The results confirm the relationship between adolescents' physical activity and their families' SES. In particular, a positive relationship between participation in extra-curricular physical activity and their families high SES was found. These data will be useful for school administrators and for politicians in order to reduce the gap between adolescents from the least and most disadvantaged families

A Systematic Literature Review of Sport and Physical Activity Participation in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Migrant Populations

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrants face significant health risks as they adapt to new cultures. These risks are exacerbated by their limited participation in preventative behaviours such as sports and physical activity. The review aimed to identify studies that examined the correlates of sport and physical activity participation in migrants. The systematic review identified 72 papers, including 6 interventions, 18 qualitative and 48 quantitative studies. The 44 identified correlates highlight the complexities involved in working with migrants. The correlates were grouped in four themes using the social ecological model; acculturation, demographic, psychosocial and environmental/organisational. The social ecological model identified general correlates such as social support and safety. However, there were unique correlates relating to individuals who are facing cultural changes such as acculturation and language. Overall, there is a lack of contextualisation of CALD migrants’ sport and physical activity experiences because many studies fail to consider acculturation comprehensively. Initially titled: A review of sport and physical activity in culturally and linguistically diverse migrant

Estágios de mudança de comportamento relacionados à atividade física em adolescentes Estadios de cambio de comportamiento relacionados a la actividad física en adolescentes Behavior change stages related to physical activity in adolescents

Estudos relacionados ao comportamento quanto à prática de atividades físicas vêm despertando interesse cada vez maior nos pesquisadores. Porém, especialmente em adolescentes ainda percebe-se grande carência de investigações com esse enfoque. O objetivo desta pesquisa do tipo descritivo analítico foi classificar a prática de atividade física segundo a teoria dos estágios de mudança de comportamento (EMC) de acordo com o sexo, série e nível socioeconômico. Os sujeitos foram adolescentes do ensino médio, da cidade do Recife-PE, com média de idade de 16,2 ± 1,1 (14 a 19 anos), selecionados por amostragem por conglomerados, totalizando 2.271 estudantes (1.022 rapazes e 1.249 moças), de 29 escolas de ensino privado. Características sociodemográficas e EMC foram levantados mediante aplicação de um questionário de auto-relato. As análises dos dados foram feitas usando a estatística descritiva, o teste do qui-quadrado, a correlação de Spearman e o teste U de Mann-Whitney (p < 0,05). Os estudantes apresentaram as seguintes características: 66,3% pertenciam à classe econômica A1 e A2, o que evidenciou o alto poder aquisitivo da amostra. No grupo estudado, 61,6% dos adolescentes foram classificados como inativos ou irregularmente ativos, e 26,2%, como sedentários (pré-contemplativos e contemplativos); na análise por sexo, os rapazes eram mais ativos fisicamente que as moças segundo os EMC agrupados. Verificou-se ainda declínio na prática de atividades físicas com o avanço na série escolar. Sugere-se a criação de intervenções nas escolas da região, com o intuito de incentivar a prática de atividades físicas, principalmente nas moças, que contemplem opções escolhidas pelos jovens, reformas estruturais para adequar horários/atividades, como formas eficazes de mudança de comportamento em relação às atividades físicas.<br>Estudios relacionados al comportamiento en relación a la práctica de actividades físicas vienen despertando un interés cada vez mayor en los investigadores. Por ello, especialmente en adolescentes aún se percibe una gran carencia de investigaciones con ese enfoque. El objetivo de esta investigación, de tipo descriptivo analítico fue el de clasificar la práctica de actividad física según los Estadios de Cambios de Comportamiento (EMC) de acuerdo con el sexo, años de estudio y nivel socioeconomico. Los sujetos fueron adolescentes de enseñanza media de la ciudad de Recife-PE, con una media de edad de 16,2 ± 1,1 (14 a 19 años), seleccionados por amuestras en conglomerados, totalizando 2.271 estudiantes (1.022 jóvenes y 1.249 chicas), de 29 escuelas de enseñanza privada. Características socio-demográficas y los EMC fueron levantados mediante la aplicación de un cuestionario de auto relato. Los análisis de los datos fueron hechas usando la estadística descriptiva, el test de Qui-cuadrado, la correlación de Spearman y el test U de Mann-Whitney (p < 0,05). Los estudiantes presentaron las siguientes características: 66,3% pertenecían a la clase económica A1 y A2, lo que evidenció un alto poder adquisitivo de la muestra. En el grupo estudiado, 61,6% de los adolescentes fueron clasificados como inactivos o irregularmente activos, y 26,2% fueron clasificados como sedentarios (pre-contemplativos y contemplativos), siendo que en el análisis por sexo, los varones fueron más activos físicamente que las chicas según los EMC agrupados. Se verificó aún un descenso de actividades físicas con el avance de la serie escolar. Se sugiere la creación de intervenciones en las escuelas de la región, con el intento de incentivar la práctica de las actividades físicas principalmente en las chicas, que contemplen opciones escogidas por los jóvenes, reformas estructurales para adecuar horarios/actividades, como formas eficaces de cambio de comportamiento en relación a las actividades físicas.<br>Studies related to behavior in relation to the practice of physical exercises have attracted the attention of many researchers. However, there is still a lack of investigations on this topic especially among adolescents. The objective of this descriptive-analytical type research was to classify the practice of physical exercise according to the Behavior Change Stages (BCS) theory, according to gender, grade and socioeconomic level. The subjects were high-school adolescents from the city of Recife-PE with average age of 16.2 ± 1.1 (14 to 19 years of age) selected by conglomerate sampling totalizing 2,271 students (1,022 boys and 1,249 girls) from 29 private schools. Social-demographic and BCS characteristics were surveyed by means of the application of a self-report questionnaire. The analysis of data were conducted using the descriptive statistics, the chi-squared test, the Spearman correlation and the Mann-Whitney U test (p < 0.05). The students presented the following characteristics: 66.3% belonged to economical classes A1 and A2, what evidenced the high purchasing power of the sample. In the group studied, 61.6% of the adolescents were classified as inactive or irregularly active and 26.2% were classified as inactive (precontemplative and contemplative), and in the analysis by gender, boys were physically more active than girls according to grouped BCS. A decline on the practice of physical activities with the grade advance was also verified. The creation of interventions in schools of the region with the objective of encouraging the practice of physical activities is suggested, especially among girls, that contemplate the option selected by the students, and structural reformulations to suit schedule/activity as effective ways to change the behavior in relation to physical activities

Characteristics of Urban Sidewalks/Streets and Objectively Measured Physical Activity

Several studies have found significant relationships between environmental characteristics (e.g., number of destinations, aesthetics) and physical activity. While a few of these studies verified that the physical activities assessed were performed in the environments examined, none have done this in an urban, neighborhood setting. This information will help efforts to inform policy decisions regarding the design of more “physically active” communities. Fourteen environmental characteristics of 60, 305-m-long segments, located in an urban, residential setting, were directly measured using standardized procedures. The number of individuals walking, jogging, and biking in the segments was assessed using an observation technique. The segments were heterogeneous with regards to several of the environmental characteristics. A total of 473 individuals were seen walking, bicycling, or jogging in the segments during 3,600 min of observation (60 min/segment). Of the 473 seen, 315 were walking, 116 bicycling, and 42 jogging. A greater number of individuals were seen walking in segments with more traffic, sidewalk defects, graffiti, and litter and less desirable property aesthetics. Only one environmental characteristic was associated with bicycling and none were significantly related with jogging. This study provides further evidence that environmental characteristics and walking are related. It also adds new information regarding the importance of scale (e.g., micro, macro) and how some environmental characteristics of urban, residential sidewalks and streets relate to physical activity

Relationships between media use, body fatness and physical activity in children and youth: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To review the empirical evidence of associations between television (TV) viewing, video/computer game use and (a) body fatness, and (b) physical activity. DESIGN: Meta-analysis. METHOD: Published English-language studies were located from computerized literature searches, bibliographies of primary studies and narrative reviews, and manual searches of personal archives. Included studies presented at least one empirical association between TV viewing, video/computer game use and body fatness or physical activity among samples of children and youth aged 3–18 y. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The mean sample-weighted corrected effect size (Pearson r). RESULTS: Based on data from 52 independent samples, the mean sample-weighted effect size between TV viewing and body fatness was 0.066 (95% CI=0.056–0.078; total N=44 707). The sample-weighted fully corrected effect size was 0.084. Based on data from six independent samples, the mean sample-weighted effect size between video/computer game use and body fatness was 0.070 (95% CI=-0.048 to 0.188; total N=1722). The sample-weighted fully corrected effect size was 0.128. Based on data from 39 independent samples, the mean sample-weighted effect size between TV viewing and physical activity was -0.096 (95% CI=-0.080 to -0.112; total N=141 505). The sample-weighted fully corrected effect size was -0.129. Based on data from 10 independent samples, the mean sample-weighted effect size between video/computer game use and physical activity was -0.104 (95% CI=-0.080 to -0.128; total N=119 942). The sample-weighted fully corrected effect size was -0.141. CONCLUSION: A statistically significant relationship exists between TV viewing and body fatness among children and youth although it is likely to be too small to be of substantial clinical relevance. The relationship between TV viewing and physical activity is small but negative. The strength of these relationships remains virtually unchanged even after correcting for common sources of bias known to impact study outcomes. While the total amount of time per day engaged in sedentary behavior is inevitably prohibitive of physical activity, media-based inactivity may be unfairly implicated in recent epidemiologic trends of overweight and obesity among children and youth. Relationships between sedentary behavior and health are unlikely to be explained using single markers of inactivity, such as TV viewing or video/computer game use