Are the correlates of active school transport context-specific?
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Date
2015
Authors
Larouche, R.
Sarmiento, O.L.
Broyles, S.T.
Denstel, K.D.
Church, T.S.
Barreira, T.V.
Chaput, J-P.
Fogelholm, M.
Hu, G.
Kuriyan, R.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Macmillan Publishers Limited
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Previous research consistently indicates that children who engage in active school transport (AST) are more active
than their peers who use motorized modes (car or bus). However, studies of the correlates of AST have been conducted
predominantly in high-income countries and have yielded mixed findings. Using data from a heterogeneous sample of 12 country
sites across the world, we investigated the correlates of AST in 9–11-year olds.
METHODS: The analytical sample comprised 6555 children (53.8% girls), who reported their main travel mode to school and the
duration of their school trip. Potential individual and neighborhood correlates of AST were assessed with a parent questionnaire
adapted from previously validated instruments. Multilevel generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) were used to examine the
associations between individual and neighborhood variables and the odds of engaging in AST while controlling for the child’s
school. Site moderated the relationship of seven of these variables with AST; therefore we present analyses stratified by site.
RESULTS: The prevalence of AST varied from 5.2 to 79.4% across sites and the school-level intra-class correlation ranged from 0.00
to 0.56. For each site, the final GLMM included a different set of correlates of AST. Longer trip duration (that is, ⩾16 min versus
⩽15 min) was associated with lower odds of AST in eight sites. Other individual and neighborhood factors were associated with AST
in three sites or less.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate wide variability in the prevalence and correlates of AST in a large sample of children from twelve
geographically, economically and culturally diverse country sites. This suggests that AST interventions should not adopt a ‘one size fits
all’ approach. Future research should also explore the association between psychosocial factors and AST in different countries.
International Journal of Obesity Supplements (2015) 5, S89–S99; doi:10.1038/ijosup.2015.25
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Citation
International Journal of Obesity Supplements (2015) 5, S89–S99;