Bicycling to school is associated with improvements in physical fitness over a 6-year follow-up period in Swedish children

Chillón, Palma; Ortega, Francisco B.; Ruiz, Jonatan R.; Evenson, Kelly R.; Labayen, Idoia; Martínez‐Vizcaíno, Vicente; Hurtig-Wennlöf, Anita; Veidebaum, Toomas; Sjöstróm, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.05.019

Cited by 46 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…body mass index, skinfolds). Two longitudinal studies [25], [26] and one clinical trial [27] that included measurements of central body fat were conducted in North European populations with unusual large proportions of children and adolescences biking to school. Consequently and owing to the small sample sizes included, these studies examined changes in central body fat between youth who usually bicycling to school and those who use other modes, including walking.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Commuting Throughout Adolescence and Central Fatness before Adulthood: Prospective Birth Cohort Study

et al. 2014

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BackgroundActive commuting is a good opportunity to accumulate physical activity (PA) across the lifespan that potentially might influence central body fat. We aimed to examine the prospective associations of active commuting at 11, 15 and 18 years of age with central body fat at 18 years.MethodsParticipants were part of a large birth cohort study in Pelotas, Brazil (n = 3,649 participants). Active commuting, leisure-time PA and income were self-reported at 11, 15 and 18 years. Waist circumference and trunk fat mass were collected at 18 years with the use of a 3-dimensional photonic scanner and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, respectively.ResultsActive commuting at 11 years was not prospectively associated with central body fat. However, we found that active commuting at 15 and 18 years were prospectively and cross-sectionally associated with central body fat variables, respectively, in boys but not in girls. Also, boys in the highest tertile of accumulated active commuting (i.e., average of active commuting at 11, 13 and 18 years) were associated with −2.09 cm (95%CI: −3.24; −0.94) of waist circumference and −1.11 kg (95%CI: −1.74; −0.48) of trunk fat mass compared to boys in the lowest tertile. Analyses on changes in tertiles of active commuting from 11 and 15 years to 18 years with central body fat variables at 18 years showed that boys who remained consistently in the highest tertile or moved to a higher tertile had lower levels of central body fat compared to those consistently in the lowest tertile.ConclusionsActive commuting throughout adolescence in boys, especially during middle and late adolescence, is associated with lower levels in central fatness before adulthood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Commuting Throughout Adolescence and Central Fatness before Adulthood: Prospective Birth Cohort Study

et al. 2014

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“…Healthy People 2020 . 16 Cycling is more intense than walking 17,18 and may confer greater health benefits, 19–22 such as positive improvements in cardiovascular fitness. 23 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bicycle Trains, Cycling, and Physical Activity: A Pilot Cluster RCT

Mendoza

Haaland²,

Jacobs³

et al. 2017

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

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Introduction Increasing children’s cycling to school and physical activity are national health goals. The objective was to conduct an RCT of a bicycle train program to assess impact on students’ school travel mode and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Study design Pilot cluster RCT with randomization at the school level and N=54 participants. Setting/participants Fourth–fifth graders from four public schools serving low-income families in Seattle, WA in 2014 with analyses in 2015–2016. All participants were provided and fitted with bicycles, safety equipment (helmets, locks, and lights), and a 2 to 3–hour bicycle safety course. Intervention The intervention was a bicycle train offered daily (i.e., students volunteered to cycle with study staff to and from school). Main outcome measures Time 1 assessments occurred prior to randomization. Time 2 assessments occurred after 3–5 weeks of the intervention (i.e., during Weeks 4–6 of the intervention period). The primary outcome was the percentage of daily commutes to school by cycling measured by validated survey. MVPA, measured by accelerometry and GPS units and processed by machine learning algorithms, was a secondary outcome. Results For two separate adjusted repeated measures linear mixed effects models in which students (N=54) were nested within schools (N=4), intervention participants had: (1) an absolute increase in mean percentage of daily commutes by cycling of 44.9%, (95% CI=26.8, 63.0) and (2) an increase in mean MVPA of 21.6 minutes/day, (95% CI=8.7, 34.6) from Time 1 to Time 2 compared with controls. Conclusions A pilot bicycle train intervention increased cycling to school and daily MVPA in the short term among diverse, inner-city elementary school students. The bicycle train intervention appears promising and warrants further experimental trials among large, diverse samples with longer follow-up. Clinicaltrial.gov identifier number NCT02006186; Date of registration: December 4, 2013.

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“…In order to design effective interventions to promote walking and cycling, there is a need for studies identifying its influencing factors [5]. Cycling for transport has been linked to higher total physical activity levels [6], [7], better cardiorespiratory fitness [8], [9], and a healthier body composition [10] in children. Cycling has also some ecological and economic benefits, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Environmental Factors for Transportation Cycling in Children: A Qualitative Study Using Bike-Along Interviews

et al. 2014

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BackgroundEnvironmental factors are found to influence transport-related physical activity, but have rarely been studied in relation with cycling for transport to various destinations in 10–12 yr old children. The current qualitative study used ‘bike-along interviews’ with children and parents to allow discussion of detailed environmental factors that may influence children's cycling for transport, while cycling in the participant's neighborhood.MethodsPurposeful convenience sampling was used to recruit 35 children and one of their parents residing in (semi-) urban areas. Bike-along interviews were conducted to and from a randomly chosen destination (e.g. library) within a 15 minutes' cycle trip in the participant's neighborhood. Participants wore a GoPro camera to objectively assess environmental elements, which were subsequently discussed with participants. Content analysis and arising themes were derived using a grounded theory approach.ResultsThe discussed environmental factors were categorized under traffic, urban design, cycling facilities, road design, facilities at destination, aesthetics, topography, weather, social control, stranger danger and familiar environment. Across these categories many environmental factors were (in)directly linked to road safety. This was illustrated by detailed discussions of the children's visibility, familiarity with specific traffic situations, and degree of separation, width and legibility of cycle facilities.ConclusionRoad safety is of major concern in this 10–12 yr old study population. Bike-along interviews were able to identify new, detailed and context-specific physical environmental factors which could inform policy makers to promote children's cycling for transport. However, future studies should investigate whether hypothetical changes to such micro environmental features influence perceptions of safety and if this in turn could lead to changes in children's cycling for transport.

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Bicycling to school is associated with improvements in physical fitness over a 6-year follow-up period in Swedish children

Cited by 46 publications

References 32 publications

Active Commuting Throughout Adolescence and Central Fatness before Adulthood: Prospective Birth Cohort Study

Active Commuting Throughout Adolescence and Central Fatness before Adulthood: Prospective Birth Cohort Study

Bicycle Trains, Cycling, and Physical Activity: A Pilot Cluster RCT

Critical Environmental Factors for Transportation Cycling in Children: A Qualitative Study Using Bike-Along Interviews

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