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Physical activity and active commuting to elementary school.

John R Sirard1, William F Riner, Kerry L McIver

  • 1Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA. jsirard@stanford.edu

Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|December 7, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Fifth-grade students who actively commute to school, like walking or biking, get about 24 more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. This active transportation significantly boosts daily physical activity levels in children.

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Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Physical Activity Research
  • School Health Programs

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
  • Regular physical activity is crucial for children's physical and mental well-being.
  • Active commuting to school is a potential strategy to increase children's daily physical activity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if fifth-grade students who regularly walk or bicycle to school exhibit higher levels of physical activity compared to their peers.
  • To investigate the association between active commuting and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in elementary school students.

Main Methods:

  • A sample of 219 fifth-grade students from urban and suburban elementary schools participated.
  • Students wore Acti-Graph physical activity monitors and completed daily surveys on their mode of transportation.

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  • Participants were categorized into regular (≥5 trips/week), irregular (1-4 trips/week), and non-active (0 trips/week) commuters.

    • Main Results:

    • Regular active commuters accumulated 3% more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on weekdays compared to other groups (P=0.04).
    • This weekday difference was primarily due to an 8.5% increase in MVPA before and after school for regular commuters (P ≤ 0.01).
    • The 3% difference equates to approximately 24 additional minutes of MVPA per day for regular active commuters.

    Conclusions:

    • Walking or biking to school is associated with a significant increase in daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for fifth-grade students.
    • Active commuting represents a viable strategy to enhance physical activity levels in children.
    • Further research with larger, diverse samples is recommended to explore the broader health implications of active school travel.