Active commuting to school among 36,781 Spanish children and adolescents: A temporal trend study

Patricia Gálvez-Fernández, Manuel Herrador-Colmenero, Irene Esteban-Cornejo, José Castro-Piñero, Javier Molina-García, Ana Queralt, Susana Aznar, Alberto Abarca-Sos, David González-Cutre, Josep Vidal-Conti, Santiago Fernández-Muñoz, Jerónimo Vida, Alberto Ruiz-Ariza, Fernando Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Diego Moliner-Urdiales, Emilio Villa-González, Yaira Barranco-Ruiz, Francisco Javier Huertas-Delgado, Sandra Mandic, Palma Chillón

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examines trends in the rates of active commuting to school (ACS) in Spanish children (n = 18 343; 8.93 ± 1.68) and adolescents (n = 18 438; 14.11 ± 1.58) aged 6-18 years from 2010 to 2017. Given the study period included the economic crisis in Spain (2008-2013), the second aim of this study was to compare ACS rates during and after the economic crisis. Data were obtained from 28 studies conducted across Spain. The overall trends in ACS were evaluated using multilevel logistic regression analysis. Among Spanish children and adolescents, the rates of ACS to school ranged around 60% between 2010 and 2017. The rates of ACS in Spanish youth did not change significantly during the 2010-2017 period, except a sporadic increase in the rate of ACS in adolescents in 2012-2013. No significant association between the ACS and the economic crisis time period in youth was found. As conclusion, the ACS remains stable in Spain during the last decade, which is a promising result regarding the evidenced decreasing trend in many countries. Further educational and policy strategies are important to continue promoting this behavior in children and adolescents in the long term.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)914-924
Number of pages11
JournalScandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
Volume31
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2021

Keywords

  • active transport
  • cycling
  • school
  • trends
  • walking
  • youth

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Active commuting to school among 36,781 Spanish children and adolescents: A temporal trend study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this