Active commuting could contribute to increasing physical activity. The objective of this study was to characterise patterns of active commuting to and from schools in children and adolescents in Chile. A total of 453 Chilean children and adolescents aged between 10 and 18 years were included in this study. Data regarding modes of commuting and commuting distance was collected using a validated questionnaire. Commuting mode was classified as active commuting (walking and/or cycling) or non-active commuting (car, motorcycle and/or bus). Commuting distance expressed in kilometres was categorised into six subgroups (0 to 0.5, 0.6 to 1, 1.1 to 2, 2.1 to 3, 3.1 to 5 and >5 km). Car commuting was the main mode for children (to school 64.9%; from school 51.2%) and adolescents (to school 50.2%; from school 24.7%). Whereas public bus commuting was the main transport used by adolescents to return from school. Only 11.0% and 24.8% of children and adolescents, respectively, walk to school. The proportion of children and adolescents who engage in active commuting was lower in those covering longer distances compared to a short distance. Adolescents walked to and from school more frequently than children. These findings show that non-active commuting was the most common mode of transport and that journey distances may influence commuting modes in children and adolescents.

The health effects of COVID-19 continue to raise doubts today. In some areas, such as mental health, these doubts have scarcely been addressed. The present study analyses the effects on psychological distress during the first phase of the pandemic in Chile. A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed by using a questionnaire validated in Spain and adapted for Chile. Between 22 April and 16 December 2020, 3227 questionnaires were collected from the 16 regions of Chile, using non-probabilistic snowball sampling. Bivariate analysis and binary logistic regression were performed. The variables that could predict psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile were: having a poor self-perception of health OR = 4.038, 95% CI = (2.831, 5.758); being younger than 29 OR = 2.287, 95% CI = (1.893, 2.762); having diarrhea OR = 2.093, 95% CI = (1.414, 3.098); having headache OR = 2.019, 95% CI = (1.662, 2.453); being a woman OR = 1.638, 95% CI = (1.363, 1.967); having muscle pain OR = 1.439, 95% CI = (1.114, 1.859); and having had casual contact with an infected person OR = 1.410, 95% CI = (1.138, 1.747). In Chile, with a better social, economic, cultural, and health environment compared to neighboring countries, there has been a high percentage of psychological distress. It is time to prioritize measures to safeguard the mental health of Chileans, especially focused on the most vulnerable population according to our results, i.e., young women with poorer health status.

Strategies to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have caused different behavioural modifications in all populations. Therefore, this study aimed to determine changes in active commuting, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), physical fitness, and sedentary time during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chilean parents. Eighty-six fathers (41.30 ± 6.82 years) and 294 mothers (40.68 ± 6.92 years) of children from different schools from Valparaíso, Chile, participated. Inclusion criteria were adults with schoolchildren who were resident in Chile during the research period. Convenience sampling was used as a non-probabilistic sampling technique. Respondents completed a self-reported online survey about active commuting, MVPA, self-perceived physical fitness, and sedentary time July–September 2020 during the first pandemic period. Comparisons between before and during the pandemic were performed using t-tests and covariance analysis (ANCOVA), establishing a significance level at p < 0.05. Most participants stayed at home during the pandemic, whereas active and passive commuting significantly decreased in both fathers and mothers (p < 0.001). MVPA and physical fitness scores reduced considerably (p < 0.05), while sedentary time significantly increased (p < 0.05), independent of the sex of parents and children’s school type. Differences by age groups and the number of children were more heterogeneous, as younger parents showed a larger decrease in MVPA (p < 0.05) and physical fitness score (p < 0.05). Additionally, parents with one child showed a larger decrease in sedentary time (p < 0.05) than those with two or more children. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected healthy behaviours. Hence, health policies should promote more strategies to mitigate the long-term health effects of the pandemic on Chilean parents.

El desplazamiento activo al colegio es una oportunidad para incrementar los niveles de actividad física en niños y adolescentes. Sin embargo, la prevalencia de este comportamiento, ha descendido en la última década en la mayoría de países. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo estudiar la fiabilidad y viabilidad de un cuestionario sobre el modo de desplazamiento al/desde el centro educativo en niños y adolescentes. Se estudió la fiabilidad a través del Coeficiente de Kappa, Kappa Ponderado y Coeficiente de Correlación Intraclase (CCI) y su respectivo intervalo de confianza (IC). La muestra estuvo compuesta por 220 escolares de 9 a 18 años (72 niños/as y 148 adolescentes), pertenecientes a la región de Valparaíso en Chile. Se utilizaron 6 preguntas para determinar el desplazamiento al/desde el centro educativo. Se analizó el modo de desplazamiento habitual de ida y de vuelta, los viajes de ida y de vuelta semanales, la distancia y el tiempo de desplazamiento al centro educativo. Los resultados demuestran una alta fiabilidad de las preguntas relacionadas con el modo de desplazamiento habitual tanto para la ida (Kappa=0,91), como para la vuelta (Kappa=0,85), así como para la distancia (Kappa=0,79) y el tiempo del desplazamiento (Kappa=0,74). Los viajes de ida y vuelta semanales presentan un CCI muy bueno (de 0,79 a 0,98). Este cuestionario, es un instrumento viable y presenta una fiabilidad de buena a muy buena para evaluar tal comportamiento en niños y adolescentes.Abstract. Active commuting to school is an opportunity to increase physical activity levels in children and adolescents. However, the prevalence of this behavior continues to decline in the last decade in most countries. This research aims to study the reliability and feasibility of a questionnaire of commuting to/from school in children and adolescents. The study of reliability through the Kappa Coefficient, Weighted Kappa and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and its respective confidence interval (CI). The sample consisted of 220 students aged 9-18 years (72 children and 148 adolescents), from the Valparaíso region of Chile. Six questions were used to determine the behavior of commuting to/from school); the habitual mode of commuting to school; the habitual mode of commuting from school, weekly round trips, distance and time of commuting to school. The results showed a high reliability of the questions related to the habitual mode of commuting to/from school [(Kappa = 0, 91 and (0, 85, respectively)], as well as for distance (Kappa = 0,79) and time of commuting (Kappa = 0,74). The weekly round trips have a very good Intraclass Correlate Coefficient (ranging from 0,79 to 0,98). This version of the commuting to/from school questionnaire is a feasibility instrument and shows a high reliability to assess such behavior in children and adolescents.