Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Watersportlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2011 Aug 10;8:88. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-8-88.
Active commuting to school can contribute to daily physical activity levels in children. Insight into the determinants of active commuting is needed, to promote such behavior in children living within a feasible commuting distance from school. This study determined feasible distances for walking and cycling to school (criterion distances) in 11- to 12-year-old Belgian children. For children living within these criterion distances from school, the correlation between parental perceptions of the environment, the number of motorized vehicles per family and the commuting mode (active/passive) to school was investigated.
Parents (n = 696) were contacted through 44 randomly selected classes of the final year (sixth grade) in elementary schools in East- and West-Flanders. Parental environmental perceptions were obtained using the parent version of Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale for Youth (NEWS-Y). Information about active commuting to school was obtained using a self-reported questionnaire for parents. Distances from the children's home to school were objectively measured with Routenet online route planner. Criterion distances were set at the distance in which at least 85% of the active commuters lived. After the determination of these criterion distances, multilevel analyses were conducted to determine correlates of active commuting to school within these distances.
Almost sixty percent (59.3%) of the total sample commuted actively to school. Criterion distances were set at 1.5 kilometers for walking and 3.0 kilometers for cycling. In the range of 2.01 - 2.50 kilometers household distance from school, the number of passive commuters exceeded the number of active commuters. For children who were living less than 3.0 kilometers away from school, only perceived accessibility by the parents was positively associated with active commuting to school. Within the group of active commuters, a longer distance to school was associated with more cycling to school compared to walking to school.
Household distance from school is an important correlate of transport mode to school in children. Interventions to promote active commuting in 11-12 year olds should be focusing on children who are living within the criterion distance of 3.0 kilometers from school by improving the accessibility en route from children's home to school.
积极的上学交通方式可以增加儿童的日常身体活动量。了解决定儿童上学交通方式的因素，对于促进住在学校可行步行或骑行距离范围内的儿童采用此类交通方式很重要。本研究旨在确定 11-12 岁比利时儿童步行和骑行上学的可行距离（标准距离）。对于住在学校标准距离范围内的儿童，调查了父母对环境的感知、家庭汽车数量与上学交通方式（主动/被动）之间的相关性。
通过东佛兰德和西佛兰德随机选择的 44 个小学六年级班级联系了家长（n=696）。通过青少年邻里环境步行性量表（NEWS-Y）的家长版本获得父母的环境感知。使用家长报告的问卷获得儿童上学主动交通方式的信息。使用 Routenet 在线路线规划器客观测量儿童家到学校的距离。标准距离设定为至少 85%的主动通勤者居住的距离。在确定这些标准距离后，进行多水平分析以确定这些距离内上学主动交通方式的相关性。
在总样本中，近 60%（59.3%）的儿童主动上学。标准距离分别设定为步行 1.5 公里和骑行 3.0 公里。在距离学校 2.01-2.50 公里范围内，被动通勤者的数量超过主动通勤者。对于居住距离学校不足 3.0 公里的儿童，只有父母感知的可达性与上学主动交通方式呈正相关。在主动通勤者中，与步行上学相比，距离学校较远与更多的骑车上学相关。
家庭距离学校是儿童上学交通方式的重要决定因素。促进 11-12 岁儿童主动交通方式的干预措施应重点关注居住在 3.0 公里标准距离内的儿童，通过改善从儿童家到学校的沿途可达性来提高他们的积极性。
