Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Associated With Active Commuting to School

Abstract

Objective: To verify if there is an association between cardiometabolic risk factors and active daily commuting to school among children and adolescents. Methods: A total of 1,743 schoolchildren aged 7 to 17 years old were evaluated in the city of Santa Cruz do Sul (RS). The way of commuting to school was investigated with a questionnaire, and the cardiometabolic risk factors analyzed were body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, blood glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol (TC) and fractions, LDL and HDL. Results: The prevalence of active commuting among schoolchildren was 48.0% (95%CI 45.7-50.4), and it was associated, in the crude analysis, with blood glucose and LDL cholesterol levels. Passive schoolchildren had a 1.1 higher prevalence ratio of high glucose and LDL cholesterol levels. However, when sociodemographic variables were included in the model, these associations were not maintained. Conclusions: The prevalence of active commuting in the sample studied is low and it was shown to have a crude association with glucose and LDL cholesterol levels in students. However, sociodemographic factors seem to influence these associations.

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

“…Therefore, it is possible that youth in Porto Velho present a different reality from youth in other capitals in the northern region. This hypothesis may also explain the findings by Burgos et al 17 , where children from municipal and private schools in the city of Santa Cruz do Sul-RS, southern Brazil, were also evaluated, and the percentage of active transportation was lower compared the use of passive transportation. The results were also different from those presented by Ferreira et al 13 referring to the southern Brazilian region, however, it is worth noting that in this case, it is a city (Santa Cruz do Sul) with less structure when compared to the capital Porto Alegre and the other capitals of the southern states, where the study was carried out.…”

“…As for the use of active transportation compared between the sexes, most of the selected studies had higher percentages in boys 13,14,17,19 , although others showed the opposite 15,18 . In the last review on the use of active transportation in Brazil 6 commented that boys and girls showed similar displacement behaviors, however, in this update, we noticed higher values in boys.…”

Mediation role of residential density on the association between perceived environmental factors and active commuting to school in Brazilian adolescents

“…Thus, it is important to emphasize that environmental characteristics associated with physical activity in high-income countries are different from low-and middle-income countries (LMIC) 22 . Besides, few research is available regarding the characteristics of the environment and physical activity of young people in LMIC 22 , emphasizing the need for more research in Latin American countries, specifically in Brazil, where the occurrence of children and adolescents who passively commute to school varies between 43.3% and 52% 23,24 .…”

Deslocamento ativo em adolescentes: prevalência e preditores associados ao trajeto casa-escola

“…Não obstante os efeitos deletérios da inatividade física, sabe-se que incrementos nos níveis de AF, mesmo de intensidade leve, podem atenuar esses problemas, com melhorias do perfil metabólico e redução do risco de morte prematura 3 . Nesse aspecto, o deslocamento ativo, caracterizado como sendo qualquer tipo de des-locamento em que o sujeito o faça de forma ativa, como por exemplo através de caminhada e/ou utilização de bicicleta 4 , tem sido apontado como um meio potencial de incrementos nos níveis de AF leve a moderada 5 , induzindo a melhoras dos aspectos de saúde 6 .…”