Associations between Active Commuting to School and Health-Related Physical Fitness in Spanish School-Aged Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Active commuting (walking or cycling) to school has been positively associated with improved fitness among adolescents. However, current evidence lacks information on whether this association persists in children. The aim of this study was to examine the association of active commuting to school with different fitness parameters in Spanish school-aged children. A total of 494 children (229 girls) from five primary schools in Granada and Jaén (Spain), aged between eight and 11 years, participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants completed the Assessing Levels of Physical Activity (ALPHA) fitness test battery and answered a self-reported questionnaire regarding the weekly travel mode to school. Active commuting to school was significantly associated with higher levels of speed-agility in boys (p = 0.048) and muscle strength of the lower body muscular fitness in girls (p = 0.016). However, there were no significant associations between active commuting to school and cardiorespiratory fitness and upper body muscular fitness. Our findings suggest that active commuting to school was associated with higher levels of both speed-agility and lower body muscular fitness in boys and girls, respectively. Future studies should confirm whether increasing active commuting to school increases speed-agility and muscle strength of the lower body.

No Association Between Active Commuting to School, Adiposity, Fitness, and Cognition in Spanish Children: The MOVI‐KIDS Study

“…Given that in the present study all children traveled on foot and several studies have demonstrated that vigorous PA (≥6 metabolic equivalents of task [METs]) is necessary to produce changes in CRF, the intensity of walking and the short distance from home to school may not be sufficient to improve the CRF of children. These findings are consistent with other studies that also found no significant association between walking to school and CRF in children and adolescents …”

“…47 On the other hand, results from another study in English children showed that walking and cycling was associated with higher values in the vertical jump test . Finally, 2 studies showed that ACS was associated with better muscular fitness (measured by the standing long jump test) in children and adolescent girls, but not in boys . Hence, more research is needed to explain this association.…”

Potential correlates and outcomes of active commuting to school among adolescents

“…Schools' and adolescents' home address postal codes were geocoded using Google maps to determine the travel distance from home to school, a methodology used in prior studies (Villa-González, Ruiz, & Chillón, 2015). Only complete postal codes (7 digits in Portugal), identifying the city block and address, were analysed.…”

Associação entre o deslocamento para a escola e aptidão física relacionada ao desempenho motor em escolares

“…Villa-González, Ruiz e Chillón, em seu estudo com escolares espanhóis, encontraram níveis superiores de força nos membros inferiores das meninas, mas não nos membros superiores. 21 Em relação à força de membros inferiores, no presente estudo, os escolares ativos tiveram marcas levemente melhores, mesmo com resultados não significantes estatisticamente. Corroborando com esse resultado, Ostergaard et al (2013) em seu estudo com crianças e adolescentes noruegueses, apontaram que escolares ativos apresentaram marcas superiores de força de membros inferiores, principalmente entre aqueles que se deslocavam para a escola de bicicleta.…”

“…22 Estudo realizado por Villa-González, Ruiz e Chillón, com crianças espanholas, demonstrou que meninos que realizavam deslocamento ativo na rotina "casa -escola" apresentaram melhores níveis de agilidade e de velocidade quando comparados aos que não realizavam deslocamento ativo. 21 Larouche et al analisaram, em seu estudo de revisão, a associação entre transporte ativo e aptidão cardiovascular, e apontaram que mesmo que se tenha encontrado valores maiores de velocidade em quem faz transporte ativo, esses resultados ou não tem significância estatística ou só tem após estratificação de acordo com a distância do percurso. 23 13 Porcentagem similar foi encontrada por Aarts et al (2013) em seu estudo com crianças holandesas, apesar de haver algumas diferenças de acordo com a idade e a distância da casa, até a escola.…”