Transit use and physical activity: Findings from the Houston travel-related activity in neighborhoods (TRAIN) study

Abstract

Transportation-related physical activity can significantly increase daily total physical activity through active transportation or walking/biking to transit stops. The purpose of this study was to assess the relations between transit-use and self-reported and monitor-based physical activity levels in a predominantly minority population from the Houston Travel-Related Activity in Neighborhoods (TRAIN) Study. This was a cross-sectional analysis of 865 adults living in Houston, Texas between 2013 and 2015. The exposure variable was transit-use (non-users, occasional users, and primary users). Self-reported and accelerometer-determined physical activity were the outcomes of interest. Regression models adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and other covariates of interest were built to test the hypothesis that transit user status was directly associated with 1) minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 2) the prevalence of achieving the physical activity guidelines. The majority of participants were female, non-Hispanic black, and almost one-third had a high school education or less. After adjustment, primary transit-use was associated with 134.2 (p < 0.01) additional mean minutes per week of self-reported moderate-intensity transportation-related physical activity compared to non-users. Further, primary users had 7.3 (95% CI: 2.6–20.1) times the relative adjusted odds of meeting physical activity recommendations than non-users based on self-reported transportation-related physical activity. There were no statistically significant associations of transit-use with self-reported leisure-time or accelerometer-derived physical activity. Transit-use has the potential for a large public health impact due to its sustainability and scalability. Therefore, encouraging the use of transit as a means to promote physical activity should be examined in future studies.

Towards better evidence-informed global action: lessons learnt from the Lancet series and recent developments in physical activity and public health

“…As a working group, we have also recommended the evaluation of scaled-up physical activity interventions through multisectoral, multidisciplinary responses,43 such as Academia da Saúde95 and Academia das Cidades 96. Since our call for action, there has been some promising progress in the field with more at-scale interventions evaluated,97–100 and new frameworks for evaluation and implementation proposed 101…”

Pathways from built environment to health: A conceptual framework linking behavior and exposure-based impacts

“…Bicycle infrastructure and landscape design can help generate bicycling trips (Cole-Hunter et al, 2015) and proximity to trails can support commuting by bicycle (Hirsch et al, 2017). Transit use has also been shown to be a significant source of physical activity, leading to more walking and biking (Besser and Dannenberg, 2005;Knell et al, 2018;Lachapelle et al, 2011;Morency et al, 2011). Large transportation investments combined with urban design can promote active transportation (Adams et al, 2015;Knuiman et al, 2014) and decrease the reliance on driving (Frank et al, 2004).…”

“…Natural experiments are demonstrating that light rail transit and bus rapid transit in the U.S. has the potential to increase active travel (Brown et al, 2015;Durand et al, 2016;Knell et al, 2018;Saelens et al, 2014), although this may be more important for those who are less physically active (Hong et al, 2016). Additional effort to improve access to rail could increase physical activity (MacDonald et al, 2010).…”

The Development of the Physical Activity and Social Support Scale

“…Then a total MET value for each participant was calculated by summing all activities MET-minutes per week. Versions of this scale have been used with adult populations (Durand et al, 2016;Gabriel, McClain, Schmid, Storti, & Ainsworth, 2011;Knell et al, 2017;Momenan et al, 2012).…”