Independent mobility on the journey to school: A joint cross-sectional and prospective exploration of social and physical environmental influences.

BACKGROUND: Despite related physical/mental health benefits, children's independent mobility for school travel (i.e. walking/cycling without adult accompaniment) has declined in recent decades. PURPOSE: To examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between social/physical environmental variables and independent mobility on the school journey. METHODS: Participants were 1121 9-10 year-olds residing within 1600 m of their school in urban/rural areas of Norfolk, UK in 2007 (T1). At one year (T2) 491 children were followed-up. At T1, parents survey-reported perceptions of the social/physical environment and rules regarding their child's physical activity. Characteristics of the neighborhood, route to school and school environment were measured using a Geographical Information System and school audits. At both time-points children survey-reported their usual travel mode and whether accompanied. Regression analyses were conducted in 2013. RESULTS: Around half walked/cycled to school without adult accompaniment (T1, 43%; T2, 53%). Parents often allowing their child to play outside anywhere within the neighborhood (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 3.14 (95% CI 1.24-7.96)) and household car access (AOR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08-0.94)) were associated longitudinally with boys walking/cycling independently to school. Land use mix (AOR 1.38 (95% CI 1.06-1.79)), proportion of main roads in the neighborhood (AOR 0.67 (95% CI 0.47-0.94)) and parental encouragement for walking/cycling (AOR 0.40 (95% CI 0.20-0.80)) were associated longitudinally with girls walking/cycling independently to school. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions should develop parents' skills to teach their children to be independently mobile and to build confidence regarding venturing out without parental accompaniment. Urban planners should consider designing neighborhoods in which residences, business/retail outlets and sports facilities are co-located to promote active transport.

Neighbourhood, Route and Workplace-Related Environmental Characteristics Predict Adults' Mode of Travel to Work.

OBJECTIVE: Commuting provides opportunities for regular physical activity which can reduce the risk of chronic disease. Commuters' mode of travel may be shaped by their environment, but understanding of which specific environmental characteristics are most important and might form targets for intervention is limited. This study investigated associations between mode choice and a range of objectively assessed environmental characteristics. METHODS: Participants in the Commuting and Health in Cambridge study reported where they lived and worked, their usual mode of travel to work and a variety of socio-demographic characteristics. Using geographic information system (GIS) software, 30 exposure variables were produced capturing characteristics of areas around participants' homes and workplaces and their shortest modelled routes to work. Associations between usual mode of travel to work and personal and environmental characteristics were investigated using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: Of the 1124 respondents, 50% reported cycling or walking as their usual mode of travel to work. In adjusted analyses, home-work distance was strongly associated with mode choice, particularly for walking. Lower odds of walking or cycling rather than driving were associated with a less frequent bus service (highest versus lowest tertile: walking OR 0.61 [95% CI 0.20-1.85]; cycling OR 0.43 [95% CI 0.23-0.83]), low street connectivity (OR 0.22, [0.07-0.67]; OR 0.48 [0.26-0.90]) and free car parking at work (OR 0.24 [0.10-0.59]; OR 0.55 [0.32-0.95]). Participants were less likely to cycle if they had access to fewer destinations (leisure facilities, shops and schools) close to work (OR 0.36 [0.21-0.62]) and a railway station further from home (OR 0.53 [0.30-0.93]). Covariates strongly predicted travel mode (pseudo r-squared 0.74). CONCLUSIONS: Potentially modifiable environmental characteristics, including workplace car parking, street connectivity and access to public transport, are associated with travel mode choice, and could be addressed as part of transport policy and infrastructural interventions to promote active commuting.

Do children's individual correlates of physical activity differ by home setting?

We investigated whether physical activity (PA) correlates differed for 9-10 year-old British children living in urban, suburban and rural settings. We analysed cross-sectional data on 1653 children (SPEEDY study). Exposure variables were self-reported, whilst PA was measured using Actigraph accelerometers. Data were analysed using multilevel hierarchical regression models, stratified by home setting. PA levels did not differ by home setting. Boys, those of normal weight and those having a preference for PA had higher PA levels in all strata, but additional correlates were identified within each setting. These results highlight the potential importance of tailoring interventions to specific environmental and population strata.

Assessing the impact of road traffic on cycling for leisure and cycling to work.

BACKGROUND: To explore the relationship between leisure and commuter cycling with objectively measured levels of road traffic and whether any relationship was affected by traffic levels directly outside of home or in local neighbourhood. FINDINGS: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the UK European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) Norfolk cohort in 2009. We used a geographical information system (GIS) and gender specific multivariate models to relate 13 927 participants' reported levels of cycling with an index of road traffic volume (Road Traffic Volume Index Score--RTVIS). RTVIS were calculated around each participants home, using four distance based buffers, (0.5 km, 1 km, 2 km and 3.2 km). Models were adjusted for age, social status, education, car access and deprivation. Both genders had similar decreases in leisure cycling as traffic volumes increased at greater distances from home (OR 0.42, (95% CI 0.32-0.52, p < 0.001) for women and OR 0.41, (95% CI 0.33-0.50, p < 0.001) for men in the highest quartile at 3.2 km). There was no effect of traffic volumes at any distance on commuter cycling. CONCLUSIONS: Traffic volumes appear to have greater impact on leisure cycling than commuter cycling. Future research should investigate the importance of traffic on different types of cycling and include psychosocial correlates.

Environmental and psychological correlates of older adult's active commuting.

PURPOSE: This study explored the environmental and psychological correlates of active commuting in a sample of adults from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer Norfolk cohort. METHODS: Members of the cohort who were in employment, lived within 10 km of work, and did not report a limitation that precluded walking were included in this analysis. Psychological factors, perceptions of the neighborhood environment and travel mode to work were reported using questionnaires. Neighborhood and route environmental characteristics were estimated objectively using a geographical information system. The mediating effects of psychological factors were assessed using a series of regression models. RESULTS: A total of 1279 adults (mean age=60.4 yr, SD=5.4 yr) were included in this analysis, of whom 25% actively commuted to work. In multivariable regression analyses, those who reported strong habits for walking or cycling were more likely to actively commute, whereas those living 4-10 km from work were less likely to actively commute. In addition, living in a rural area was associated with a decreased likelihood of men's active commuting, and in women, living in a neighborhood with high road density and having a route to work that was not on a main or secondary road was associated with an increased likelihood of active commuting. There was weak evidence that habit acted to partly mediate the associations between environmental correlates and active commuting in both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that interventions designed to encourage the development of habitual behaviors for active commuting may be effective, especially among those living close to work.

Neighborhood, route, and school environments and children's active commuting.

BACKGROUND: Walking and cycling to school represent an opportunity for children to achieve regular physical activity. These behaviors may be influenced by characteristics of the environment around homes and schools, yet few studies have quantified the potential associations between these two sets of factors. PURPOSE: This study aims to assess whether objectively measured characteristics of the neighborhood, route, and school environments are associated with active commuting to school among children, and it explores whether distance acts as a moderator in this association. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted of 2012 children (899 boys and 1113 girls) aged 9-10 years attending 92 schools in the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom. Questionnaires were completed by children and parents during Summer 2007. Attributes around the home and children's route to school were assessed using a GIS. School environments were assessed using a newly developed school audit and via questionnaires completed by head teachers. Data were analyzed in 2008. RESULTS: Almost half of the children usually walked or cycled to school. Children who lived in a more deprived area and whose route to school was direct were less likely to walk or cycle to school, whereas those who had a higher density of roads in their neighborhood were more likely to walk. Further, children whose routes had a high density of streetlights were less likely to cycle to school. Distance did not moderate the observed associations. CONCLUSIONS: Objectively measured neighborhood and route factors are associated with walking and cycling to school. However, distance did not moderate the associations found here. Creating safe environments by improving urban design may influence children's commuting behavior. Intervention studies are needed to confirm the findings from this observational cross-sectional study.

Associations between physical activity, perceptions of the neighbourhood environment and access to facilities in an English city.

This article explores the environmental influences on physical activity in an English city. The cross-sectional design of this study allowed us to determine whether perceptions of the local environment and access to facilities were associated with activity in a sample of urban residents (n=401). Logistic regression analysis revealed that respondents who rated their neighbourhood as being of high walkability also tended to report higher levels of overall physical activity. Neighbourhood perceptions were also associated with higher reporting of aerobic activity and walking, although these observations did not reach statistical significance. There is a need for further studies to clarify the respective roles that social and environmental factors play in determining observed variations in physical activity.

Environmental determinants of active travel in youth: a review and framework for future research.

BACKGROUND: Many youth fail to meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity. Walking and cycling, forms of active travel, have the potential to contribute significantly towards overall physical activity levels. Recent research examining the associations between physical activity and the environment has shown that environmental factors play a role in determining behaviour in children and adolescents. However, links between the environment and active travel have received less attention. METHODS: Twenty four studies were identified which examined the associations between the environment (perceived or objectively measured) and active travel among youth aged 5-18 years. Findings were categorised according to the location of the environmental measure examined; attributes of the neighbourhood, destination and the route between home and destination. RESULTS: Results from the reviewed studies indicated that youth active travel is positively associated with social interactions, facilities to assist active travel and urban form in the neighbourhood as well as shorter route length and road safety en-route. A conceptual framework is presented which highlights the associations between active travel behaviours and environmental factors, drawing upon both existing and hypothesised relationships. CONCLUSION: We provide a review of the available literature and present a novel theoretical framework that integrates the environment into the wider decision making process around travel choices for children and adolescents. Further work should explore associations where gaps in understanding have been identified, and account for the main moderators of behaviour so hypothesised associations can be confirmed.