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Access to public transport and childhood obesity: A systematic review
Fei Xu1,2,3,4, Lingling Jin2, Zhenzhen Qin1
1Nanjing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, China.
Insights
Improved public transport access may help prevent childhood obesity by encouraging physical activity. More research is needed to confirm this link between public transport and children's health.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Environmental Health
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Limited public transport access is a potential risk factor for childhood obesity.
- This is thought to discourage active transport and reduce physical activity levels in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the existing literature on the association between access to public transport and childhood obesity.
- To synthesize findings from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies globally.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature search was conducted in major databases (Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science) for studies published before January 1, 2019.
- Included 25 cross-sectional and 2 longitudinal studies from 10 countries.
- Identified heterogeneity in sample characteristics, exposure definitions, outcome variables, and analysis methods.
Main Results:
- Findings regarding the association between public transport access and childhood obesity were inconsistent across studies.
- Over half of the studies reported null associations.
- Among the remaining studies, more indicated a positive association (suggesting a protective effect of access) than a negative one.
Conclusions:
- Increased access to public transport may have a health-promoting effect, potentially preventing childhood obesity.
- Further research with large-scale health surveys, in situ observations, and comparative analyses is required to confirm these findings.
Abstract:
The lack of access to public transport is generally considered to be a risk factor for childhood obesity by discouraging active transport and thus physical activity. To explore the association between access to public transport and childhood obesity, we have conducted a systematic literature search in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Web of Science for studies published before January 1, 2019. A total of 25 cross-sectional and two longitudinal studies conducted in 10 countries were identified. Inconsistent findings were identified arising from a great variety of sample characteristics, definitions of exposure (ie, access to public transport), and outcome variables (eg, obesity), and analysis methods. While over half of the studies showed null associations between access to public transport and childhood obesity, we have observed more positive than negative associations among the rest of the studies. These observations suggest that an increased level of access to public transport may have a health-promoting effect and hence prevent the development of childhood obesity. However, this conclusion needs to be further corroborated in future research on the basis of large-sample health surveys, in situ observations, and comparative analyses among different study areas.
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