Systematic review of active transportation to school in youth – an update from Brazil’s Report Card

Abstract

The aim of this study was to update a systematic review on the use of active transportation to school in Brazilian children and adolescents. All studies were extracted from the LILACS; BIREME; SCIELO and MEDLINE. The search was carried out on manuscripts published in the period 2018-2019. The descriptors were used in Portuguese, English and Spanish. In overall, 8 manuscripts were included in this systematic review, with 1 presenting data from three periods (2009, 2012 and 2015). The study data were obtained between 2009 and 2015 and the age group found between 7 to 19 years old. Of the selected articles, 2 presented national data, 1 from the north, 2 from the northeast, 1 from the southeast and 2 from the south of Brazil. The use of active transportation was superior to passive transportation on 6 occasions and its use was common in boys than in girls (4 of 6 articles). The use of active transportation is still more common than passive transportation in most Brazilian regions, although some cities have the opposite. The results suggest that the prevalence of active transportation is higher in boys than girls. Public policies must be created to favor the use of active transportation among Brazilian youth.

Results from Brazil’s 2022 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents

“…The protocol for this research was published on the Open Science Framework (OSF) platform ( , accessed on 1 March 2022). To gather the best evidence available in Brazil on each indicator, the following strategies were adopted: Fourteen systematic reviews were conducted [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], covering the following indicators: (1) Overall Physical Activity; (2) Organized Sport and Physical Activity; (3) Active Play; (4) Active Transportation; (5) Sedentary Behaviors; (6) Sleep; (7) Family and Peers; (8) Community and Environment; (9) Physical Fitness; (10) Obesity; (11) Poor Mental Health. In all systematic reviews, only studies with a sample of Brazilian children and adolescents published until December 2019—that is, before the COVID-19 pandemic—were considered eligible.…”

“…The target age for the samples investigated in the systematic reviews of this current report was adolescent children aged 5 to 19 years. All details about the samples can be consulted in previously published articles [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]; For the School indicator, an original study [ 26 ] was conducted with public data from the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP); For the indicator related to Governmental Strategies and Investments, analyses were based on official information from the Brazilian Federal Government, in which official websites of the different Ministries in Brazil, national surveys of the federal government, and technical reports on the subject were researched. One paper about this indicator has been published [ 27 ].…”

“…The target age for the samples investigated in the systematic reviews of this current report was adolescent children aged 5 to 19 years. All details about the samples can be consulted in previously published articles [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ];…”

“…Furthermore, in all articles, the results are discussed in depth, and improvement strategies for each indicator are presented. The articles were published in peer-reviewed and open access journals [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”