Active transport between home and school assessed with GPS: a cross-sectional study among Dutch elementary school children

BMC Public Health

Frank H Pierik³  Jamie MA Graham³  Sanne I de Vries²  Dirk Dessing¹ 

[1]Department of Public & Occupational Health and EMGO+ Institute, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

[2]Research group Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Johanna Westerdijkplein 75, The Hague, The Netherlands

[3]TNO, Department of Urban Environment and Safety, Utrecht, The Netherlands

关键词: Cycling;    Walking;    Mode of transport;    Global positioning system (GPS);    Children;    Elementary school;   

Others  :  1132360
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-14-227

 received in 2013-06-13, accepted in 2014-02-27,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Active transport to school is associated with higher levels of physical activity in children. Promotion of active transport has therefore gained attention as a potential target to increase children’s physical activity levels. Recent studies have recognized that the distance between home and school is an important predictor for active travel among children. These studies did not yet use the promising global positioning system (GPS) methods to objectively assess active transport. This study aims to explore active transport to school in relation to the distance between home and school among a sample of Dutch elementary school children, using GPS.

Methods

Seventy-nine children, aged 6-11 years, were recruited in six schools that were located in five cities in the Netherlands. All children were asked to wear a GPS receiver for one week. All measurements were conducted between December 2008 and April 2009. Based on GPS recordings, the distance of the trips between home and school were calculated. In addition, the mode of transport (i.e., walking, cycling, motorized transport) was determined using the average and maximum speed of the GPS tracks. Then, proportion of walking and cycling trips to school was determined in relation to the distance between home and school.

Results

Out of all school trips that were recorded (n = 812), 79.2% were classified as active transport. On average, active commuting trips were of a distance of 422 meters with an average speed of 5.2 km/hour. The proportion of walking trips declined significantly at increased school trip distance, whereas the proportion of cycling trips (β = 1.23, p < 0.01) and motorized transport (β = 3.61, p < 0.01) increased. Almost all GPS tracks less than 300 meters were actively commuted, while of the tracks above 900 meters, more than half was passively commuted.

Conclusions

In the current research setting, active transport between home and school was the most frequently used mode of travel. Increasing distance seems to be associated with higher levels of passive transport. These results are relevant for those involved in decisions on where to site schools and residences, as it may affect healthy behavior among children.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Dessing et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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