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Review
. 2009 Jan;48(1):3-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.10.017. Epub 2008 Oct 30.

Active school transport, physical activity levels and body weight of children and youth: a systematic review

Guy E J Faulkner  1 , Ron N Buliung, Parminder K Flora, Caroline Fusco
Affiliations
Review

Active school transport, physical activity levels and body weight of children and youth: a systematic review

Guy E J Faulkner et al. Prev Med. 2009 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: Active school transport (AST) may be an important source of children's physical activity (PA). Innovative solutions that increase PA time for children, without putting added pressure on the school curriculum, merit consideration. Before implementing such solutions, it is important to demonstrate that active school transport is associated with health-related outcomes.

Methods: Following a standardized protocol, we conducted a systematic review of published research to address this question and explore whether children who actively commute to school also have a healthier body weight. Online searches of 5 electronic databases were conducted. Potential studies were screened on the basis of objective measures of physical activity.

Results: Thirteen studies were included in this review. Nine studies demonstrated that children who actively commute to school accumulate significantly more PA and two studies reported that they expended significantly more kilocalories per day. Where studies examined body weight (n=10), only one reported active commuters having a lower body weight.

Conclusions: These studies demonstrate that active school commuters tend to be more physically active overall than passive commuters. However, evidence for the impact of AST in promoting healthy body weights for children and youth is not compelling.

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Comment in

  • Carry that Weight.
    Morabia A, Costanza MC. Morabia A, et al. Prev Med. 2009 Jan;48(1):1-2. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.12.004. Prev Med. 2009. PMID: 19135594 No abstract available.
  • Physical activity and weight loss.
    Bovet P, Chiolero A, Paccaud F. Bovet P, et al. Prev Med. 2009 Apr;48(4):401; author reply 402. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2009.01.012. Epub 2009 Feb 7. Prev Med. 2009. PMID: 19463490 No abstract available.

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