Predictors and Patterns of Physical Activity From Transportation Among United States Youth, 2007-2016

Abstract

Physical activity is strongly associated with health benefits in youth, although wide disparities in physical activity persist across sex, race/ethnicity, and income. Active transportation is an important source of youth physical activity. We aimed to describe active transportation patterns for United States adolescents and young adults ages 12e25 years across sociodemographic and weight status characteristics. Methods: Cross-sectional secondary data analyses were based on self-reported transportationrelated physical activity using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2016. Results: Of the sample (n ¼ 8,680; population represented, N ¼ 57,768,628), 4,300 (49.5%) were adolescents (12-17 y), and 4,380 (50.4%) were young adults (18-25 y). Male adolescents were more likely to participate in any (risk ratio [RR] ¼ 1.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-1.40) and daily (RR ¼ 1.3; 95% CI, 1.06-1.63) active transportation than females. Black (RR ¼ 1.1; 95% CI, 1.01-1.31) and Hispanic (RR ¼ 1.2; 95% CI, 1.05-1.31) adolescents were more likely to engage in any active transportation than whites. Young adult males were more likely to participate in any (RR ¼ 1.3; 95% CI, 1.20-1.50) and daily (RR ¼ 1.3; 95% CI, 1.08-1.55) active transportation than females. Young adults with a lower family income, and both adolescents and young adults with a lower household education, were more likely to engage in any and daily active transportation. We also observed an inverse relationship between weight class and active transportation participation. Conclusion: Active transportation was higher in males, minority, and lower income youth. Our study findings provide evidence for physical activity interventions, suggesting active transportation is a feasible target for low-income and minority youth to reduce physical activity disparities and support optimal health.

American Heart Association's Children's Strategically Focused Research Network Experience

“…9 As a collaborative in the SFRN‐wide initiative, we successfully hosted colleagues from Northwestern SFRN for a 2‐week onsite shared learning visit among many other collaborative activities across all SFRNs. We have several publications 6 , 10 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 5 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 and have obtained several grants to provide follow‐on funding to sustain our initiatives: R01 (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) multiple principal investigators A. C. Skinner/S. C. Armstrong: Fit Together: Implementation of Clinic Community Model of Child Obesity Treatment R01 (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) principal investigator Lawrence David (using pilot data on microbiome from AHA): DNA metabarcoding of stool microbiome to determine dietary intake in children with obesity.…”

Severe obesity and fitness in New York City public school youth, 2010–2018

“…Another possible explanation may be that minority youth participate in more active transportation (e.g., walking and biking) and use public transportation more frequently, which could contribute to increased fitness [ 35 ]. In a study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic youth were more likely to engage in active transport compared to non-Hispanic White youth [ 36 ]. Additionally, findings from another US-based study show that minority youth are more likely to use public transportation, which was associated with increased moderate to vigorous PA [ 37 ].…”

Navigating Health Equity Through Mobility Justice: Youth of Color Organizing for Transportation Equity in Our Backyards

“…There exist excellent examples of engaging youth in walk-to-school initiatives that affect youth mobility and in conversations about specific transit infrastructure changes such as urban greenway development (Greer et al, 2021; Sims-Gould et al, 2019). Such engagement is critical for youth of color and those from lower-income families, who engage in more active transportation than their counterparts (D’Agostino et al, 2021). This is partly because these groups are more likely to use public transportation, despite youth’s safety and racism concerns that decrease viable, safe options for active transportation (Roberts et al, 2019).…”