Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Bufford Highway NE, MS F-77, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.
Division of Population Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Bufford Highway NE, MS F-77, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.
Prev Med. 2019 Jan;118:191-195. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.10.016. Epub 2018 Oct 25.
Children and adolescents can engage in an active lifestyle by walking to school; however, several barriers may limit this behavior. This study estimates the prevalence of walking to school and related barriers as reported by U.S. parents. Data from the 2017 SummerStyles, a Web-based survey conducted on a nationwide sample of U.S. adults, were analyzed in 2017. Parents of children aged 5-18 years (n = 1137) were asked whether their youngest child walked to or from school during a usual school week and what barriers make this difficult. Frequencies are presented overall and by parent characteristics. About 1 in 6 parents (16.5%) reported their youngest child walks to or from school at least once during a usual week. Prevalence differed by parental race/ethnicity, marital status, region, and distance from school. The most common barrier was living too far away (51.3%), followed by traffic-related danger (46.2%), weather (16.6%), "other" barrier (14.7%), crime (11.3%), and school policy (4.7%). The frequency at which parents reported certain barriers varied by their child's walking status, distance to school, age of youngest child, race/ethnicity, education level, household income, and metropolitan statistical area status. However, the relative ranking of barriers did not differ by these characteristics. Prevalence of walking to school is low in the U.S., and living too far away and traffic-related danger are common barriers reported by parents. Implementing Safe Routes to School programs and other initiatives that utilize strategies to overcome locally-relevant barriers could help increase the prevalence of children walking to school.
儿童和青少年可以通过步行上学来保持积极的生活方式；然而，一些障碍可能会限制这种行为。本研究估计了美国父母报告的步行上学的流行率以及相关障碍。2017 年对全美成年人群进行的基于网络的“2017 年暑期风尚调查”（SummerStyles）的数据进行了分析。研究人员询问了 5-18 岁儿童的家长，他们的孩子在上学日是否步行上下学，以及有哪些障碍让这变得困难。总体和按家长特征呈现了频率。约有 1/6 的家长（16.5%）报告说，他们的孩子在上学日至少有一次步行上下学。流行率因父母的种族/民族、婚姻状况、地区以及与学校的距离而有所不同。最常见的障碍是住得太远（51.3%），其次是与交通相关的危险（46.2%）、天气（16.6%）、“其他”障碍（14.7%）、犯罪（11.3%）和学校政策（4.7%）。父母报告某些障碍的频率因孩子的步行状况、与学校的距离、最小孩子的年龄、种族/民族、教育水平、家庭收入以及都市区状况而有所不同。然而，障碍的相对排名并没有因这些特征而有所不同。在美国，步行上学的比例较低，住得太远和与交通相关的危险是父母报告的常见障碍。实施安全上学路线计划和其他利用策略来克服当地相关障碍的举措，可能有助于提高儿童步行上学的比例。
