Background and Objectives: Active commuting to and from university (ACU) could be a strategy to increase physical activity levels (PA) and promote health in young university students. We aimed to a) examine the patterns of commuting to university in Chilean students; b) the association between the mode of commuting to and from university and socio-demographic factors and PA-levels. Materials and Methods: A total of 496 university students (21.6 ± 2.4 years old) from two universities from Valparaíso (central coast of Chile) participated in this study. Personal data, home address, socio-economic status, PA, and the usual mode of commuting to and from the university were self-reported by a questionnaire. The commute distances were objectively measured using Google-Maps-software. Associations were examined using binary logistic regressions. Results: The main mode of commuting was by bus (to university: 55.2% vs. from university: 59.3%; p < 0.001). The least used mode was cycling (1.4% to and from university). Students living >5-km from university were less active commuters than those living in closer distances: (2–5 km, odds ratio (OR): 4.424, 95% and 95% confidence intervals (CI): 2.443–8.011, p < 0.001; 2 km, OR: 143.052, 95% CI: 55.154–371.030, p < 0.001). Students with low PA-levels were less active commuters than those with medium (OR: 1.446; 95% CI: 0.864–2.421; p = 0.160) or higher levels (OR: 1.880; 95% CI: 1.880–1.094; p = 0.022). Students who lived between 2 and 5 km, presented a significant association to be active commuters when they showed medium PA-levels (OR: 5.244, 95% CI: 1.358–20.246; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Chilean university students from Valparaíso are mainly passive commuters using public transport as the main mode of commuting to and from university; longer distances from home to the university are associated with low PA levels. ACU in distances between 2–5 km (mainly walking) could contribute to having medium PA-levels in Chilean university students. Thus, promoting the ACU walking to and from the university in such distances could be an effective strategy to increase the overall PA levels in Chilean university students.

La presente revisión aborda como temática principal la importancia de la Inteligencia Emocional como requisito fundamental de las y los docentes en su práctica pedagógica, al mismo tiempo que se destaca la Educación Emocional en las y los estudiantes como herramienta fundamental para la mejora de los procesos de enseñanzaaprendizaje y para el desarrollo integral de las personas. Para cumplir este objetivo se comienza con un análisis acabado de las emociones, su procesamiento a nivel cerebral y su incidencia en el proceso de aprendizaje. Posteriormente se realiza una descripción detallada de la relación entre Educación Emocional e Inteligencia Emocional y la formación inicial del profesorado en esta área, finalizando con la revisión de tres programas de formación en Educación Emocional para estudiantes de pedagogía, evidenciando la necesidad de incluir contenidos al respecto tanto en la formación docente como de forma transversal en la educación a nivel escolar y universitaria.

Objective: To compare the differences in the modes and distance of the displacements in high school and university stage in the same sample. Methods: A total of 1288 volunteer university students (614 males and 674 females) participated, with an average age of 22.7 ± 5.8 years, belonging to four private and public universities in Chile where a validated self-report questionnaire was applied to the study, which included the modes, travel time, and distance at school and university. Results: The active commuting decreases from school to university when leaving home (males: 39.6% to 34.0%; p = 0.033 and females: 32.9% to 18.5%, p < 0.001), as well as when returning (males: 44.1% to 33.7%; p < 0.001 and females: 38.6% to 17.6%, p < 0.001). Conversely, non-active modes of transport increase, especially in females (go: 67.1% to 81.4%, return: 61.5% to 82.6%), affected by the increase in the use of public transportation in university. It was also defined that at both school and at university, the active commuting decreases the greater the distance travelled. Conclusion: The active modes of commuting decreased between high school and university and the non-active mode of commuting was the most frequent form of mobility to high school and university, observing that the active trips decreased when the distance from the home to high school or university increased. Public and private intervention policies and strategies are required to maintain or increase the modes of active commuting in the university stage for an active life in adulthood.

Biking and walking are active commuting, which is considered an opportunity to create healthy habits. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the main environmental and psychosocial barriers perceived by students, leading to less Active Commuting (AC) to university and to not reaching the Physical Activity (PA) recommendations. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1349 university students (637 men and 712 women) were selected. A self-reported questionnaire was applied to assess the mode of commuting, PA level and barriers to the use of the AC. Results: Women presented higher barriers associated with passive commuting than men. The main barriers for women were “involves too much planning” (OR: 5.25; 95% CI: 3.14–8.78), “It takes too much time” (OR: 4.62; 95% CI: 3.05–6.99) and “It takes too much physical effort “ (OR: 3.18; 95% CI: 2.05–4.94). In men, the main barriers were “It takes too much time” (OR: 4.22; 95% CI: 2.97–5.99), “involves too much planning” (OR: 2.49; 95% CI: 1.67–3.70) and “too much traffic along the route” (OR: 2.07; 95% CI: 1.47–2.93). Psychosocial barriers were found in both sexes. Conclusion: Psychosocial and personal barriers were more positively associated with passive commuting than environmental barriers. Interventions at the university are necessary to improve the perception of AC and encourage personal organization to travel more actively.

Background: the present study aimed to investigate the effects of a single nutritional preventive session previous to a critical period linked to fat gain in university students with overweightness and obesity, emulating a nutritional session of a public health system. Methods: In this single-blind randomized controlled trial, 23 students met all the criteria to be included (20.91 ± 2.52-year-old; 52.2% women) who were divided into two groups: intervention group (IG) and control group (CG). Fat mass (FM) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), physical activity by accelerometry, feeding evaluation through three questionnaires, and a set of healthy lifestyle recommendations were evaluated before and after the national holidays (NH). Results: Our findings showed that FM increased significantly in the CG, but not in the IG (CG = 428.1g; IG = 321.9g; D = 106.2g; p = 0.654 [95% CI = −379.57, 591.92]). However, no differences were found during the NH between them (Hedges’ g effect size = 0.19; p = 0.654). In addition, no statistical differences were observed between groups in feeding evaluations, the set of recommendations performed, and physical activity. Conclusion: a single preventive session before a critical period, using a similar counselling approach as used in the public health system, might not be enough to promote changes in eating and physical activity patterns and preventing fat gain in overweight/obese university students. Long-term interventions are a must.

Active commuting provides an opportunity for increased physical activity levels by a simple, inexpensive, and easy way to be incorporated in daily routines and could be considered a steppingstone for achieving a sustainable society since it provides physical, psychological, environmental, and economic benefits. Objective: (a) to describe the commuting patterns to and from university in students regarding gender, (b) to provide new self-report variables to measure the active commuting behavior, and (c) to examine the sociodemographic characteristics associated with commuting behaviors. Material and Methods: A total of 1257 university students (52.4% females) participated (22.4 ± 5.6 years old) from three Chilean universities located in different cities. Results: 56.1% of women and 42.0% men use public bus to and from university. The commuting energy expenditure was higher in active commuting followed by public and private modes of commuting (p < 0.001). The most active commuters were those older (men: OR = 3.637; 95% CI = 1.63, 8.10; women: OR = 8.841; 95% CI = 3.94, 13.78), those who lived in university residence (men: OR = 12.432; 95% CI = 4.39, 35.19; women: OR = 3.952; 95% CI = 1.31, 11.85), belonged to low socioeconomic level (men: OR = 3.820; 95% CI = 1.43, 10.18; women: OR = 4.936; 95% CI = 1.63, 14.90), and to public universities (men: OR = 26.757; 95% CI = 10.63, 67.34; women: OR = 8.029; 95% CI = 3.00, 21.48). Conclusion: The sociodemographic characteristics may influence in the mode of commuting to university. New variables of commuting behaviors may be efficient to quantify the physical activity.

Objetivo: Describir la variación en diversos indicadores de la composición corporal antes y después de vacaciones de fiestas patrias (VFP) en estudiantes universitarios con sobrepeso y obesidad. Métodos: Se evaluó la composición corporal a 11 estudiantes, dos veces antes (t1 y t2) y una vez posterior a VFP (t3). Se midió el peso, cintura, cadera, se calculó el índice de masa corporal (IMC) y se evaluó la masa grasa y magra segmental a través de absorciometría dual de rayos X (DEXA). Una ANOVA de medidas repetidas se utilizó para detectar cambios entre los tiempos (t1, t2 y t3). Resultados:Previo a VFP (t1-t2) se observa una disminución en la razón cintura/cadera (-4.26%; p=0.024). Posterior a las VFP (t2-t3) se aprecia un aumento significativo de la masa grasa total (+428g, p=0.019) y también una disminución en el índice musculoesquelético relativo (IMSR; -1.35%; p=0.048). No se observan cambios en indicadores antropométricos como peso e IMC. Conclusión: Las VFP se asocian a una variación desfavorable de la composición corporal en estudiantes universitarios con sobrepeso y obesidad. Considerar el peso corporal o IMC podría subvalorar el real impacto de este periodo crítico sobre la composición corporal de personas que presentan malnutrición por exceso.

Objetivo: Comprobar la fiabilidad de una escala de barreras para el desplazamiento activo a la universidad en estudiantes universitarios chilenos. Métodos: participaron 110 universitarios (33 mujeres y 77 hombres) con edades entre los 19 y 26 años. Cada participante completó la escala en dos sesiones de medición separadas por una semana (test y re-test). Para evaluar la confiabilidad de este cuestionario, se calculó el coeficiente de correlación intraclase (ICC) utilizando el software estadístico SPSS. Resultados: Los ICCs mostraron rangos para las barreras percibidas para el desplazamiento activo a la universidad entre 0,6 - 0,8. Se presentaron diferencias significativas en dos ítems de las barreras percibidas para el desplazamiento activo a la universidad entre test y re-test (p < 0,05). Conclusión: La “escala de barreras para el desplazamiento activo a la universidad” demuestra ser un instrumento confiable para la población universitaria, presentando una buena fiabilidad en todos sus ítems.