Active commuting to school among NSW primary school children: implications for public health [An article from: Health and Place]

This digital document is a journal article from Health and Place, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Regular active commuting by walking/cycling can help maintain an active lifestyle. The frequency, duration and correlates of school active commuting were examined for primary school children in NSW, Australia. Walking/cycling -only and in combination with bus/car were of short duration (median 7 or 4min, respectively) and their frequency dropped within a short distance (>0.75km) from school. Apart from distance, child's age, school affiliation and perceived safety, regular walking/cycling (10 trips, 22%) was associated with parents' travel mode to work and with father taking the child to school. Frequent walking/cycling (>=5 trips, 37%) was associated with child's level of independence and the perceived benefits of active commuting. Behaviour change in this setting requires multi-level strategies.