Associations between active school transport and physical activity, body composition, and cardiovascular fitness: a systematic review of 68 studies
- PMID: 23250273
- DOI: 10.1123/jpah.2011-0345
Associations between active school transport and physical activity, body composition, and cardiovascular fitness: a systematic review of 68 studies
Abstract
Background: The impact of active school transport (AST) on daily physical activity (PA) levels, body composition and cardiovascular fitness remains unclear.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted to examine differences in PA, body composition and cardiovascular fitness between active and passive travelers. The Medline, PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, and ProQuest databases were searched and 10 key informants were consulted. Quality of evidence was assessed with GRADE and with the Effective Public Health Practice Project tool for quantitative studies.
Results: Sixty-eight different studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies found that active school travelers were more active or that AST interventions lead to increases in PA, and the quality of evidence is moderate. There is conflicting, and therefore very low quality evidence, regarding the associations between AST and body composition indicators, and between walking to/from school and cardiovascular fitness; however, all studies with relevant measures found a positive association between cycling to/from school and cardiovascular fitness; this evidence is of moderate quality.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that AST should be promoted to increase PA levels in children and adolescents and that cycling to/ from school is associated with increased cardiovascular fitness. Intervention studies are needed to increase the quality of evidence.
Similar articles
-
Aerobic fitness and mode of travel to school in English schoolchildren.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Feb;42(2):281-7. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181b11bdc. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010. PMID: 20083960
-
Associations between Active Commuting to School and Health-Related Physical Fitness in Spanish School-Aged Children: A Cross-Sectional Study.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015 Aug 26;12(9):10362-73. doi: 10.3390/ijerph120910362. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015. PMID: 26322487 Free PMC article.
-
Cross sectional analysis of the association between mode of school transportation and physical fitness in children and adolescents.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2013 Jul 17;10:91. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-10-91. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2013. PMID: 23866826 Free PMC article.
-
Effectiveness of active school transport interventions: a systematic review and update.BMC Public Health. 2018 Feb 1;18(1):206. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-5005-1. BMC Public Health. 2018. PMID: 29390988 Free PMC article. Review.
-
The relationship between active travel to school and health-related fitness in children and adolescents: a systematic review.Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2011 Jan 26;8:5. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-8-5. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2011. PMID: 21269514 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Associations between school-level environment and individual-level factors of walking and cycling to school in Canadian youth.Prev Med Rep. 2023 Nov 2;36:102489. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102489. eCollection 2023 Dec. Prev Med Rep. 2023. PMID: 38116258 Free PMC article.
-
24-Hour movement behaviours research during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic scoping review.BMC Public Health. 2023 Nov 7;23(1):2188. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-17136-y. BMC Public Health. 2023. PMID: 37936168 Free PMC article.
-
Active School Commuting in School Children: A Narrative Review of Current Evidence and Future Research Implications.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Oct 16;20(20):6929. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20206929. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023. PMID: 37887667 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Parental perspectives on the decision-making process on transport mode choice in adolescents: a qualitative study with mothers and fathers.Front Psychol. 2023 Sep 14;14:1227612. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1227612. eCollection 2023. Front Psychol. 2023. PMID: 37780145 Free PMC article.
-
Gender-specific social and environmental correlates of active travel to school in four European countries: the HBSC Study.Front Public Health. 2023 Jul 25;11:1190045. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1190045. eCollection 2023. Front Public Health. 2023. PMID: 37559734 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous