The Threshold Distance Associated With Walking From Home to School

Abstract

Active commuting to school has health implications among young people. We aimed to (a) examine the patterns of commuting to school in children and adolescents regarding gender and area of residence, (b) study the association between distance from home to school and mode of commuting, and (c) identify the threshold distance below which young people are more likely to walk to school. A total of 6,004 students aged 7 to 18 years from Spain participated in this study. Mode of commuting was self-reported and distance was objectively measured using Google Maps software. Associations were examined using binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curves analysis. Around 67% of children and 60% of adolescents commuted to school actively (mainly walking). The threshold distance for walking to school was 875 m, 0.54 miles, in children, and it was higher among urban (1,250 m, 0.78 miles) than in rural participants (675 m, 0.42 miles). The threshold distance for walking to school was 1,350 m, 0.84 miles, in adolescents, and it was lower among urban (1,350 m, 0.84 miles) than in rural participants (1,550 m, 0.96 miles). Future interventions on active commuting to school should consider this threshold distance, and chances of promoting an active commuting to school could have as a goal the increase of this threshold distance.

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

“…Therefore, it is possible that the distance to school in the present study is insufficient to significantly increase the energy expenditure of children and, consequently, to produce improvements in adiposity. Besides, unlike countries such as Spain or the United States, where the probability of walking to school decreases with longer distances and cycling to school is uncommon, in Holland, the distance was significantly associated with an increase in cycling . It is not surprising, therefore, that in countries where cycling is more common, ACS is associated with less adiposity .…”

“…33 Future studies should take differences between countries in cycling and walking habits into account, since it is a specific variable that differs in each context. 33 Another possible explanation for these results could be that the distance from home to school in Spain (approximately an average distance of 650 m for children) 34 may not be sufficient to improve the adiposity of children. 15 In this context, Duncan et al found that children who actively commuted to school a distance between 1.7 and 2.3 km obtained higher levels of PA. 35 Therefore, it is possible that the distance to school in the present study is insufficient to significantly increase the energy expenditure of children and, consequently, to produce improvements in adiposity.…”

Transport behaviours among older teenagers from semi‐rural New Zealand

“…It is possible that the higher use of active transport modes among this study sample is due to the nature of Southland’s geography, as it is relatively flat. Active transport could also be increased among this sample because one‐third of respondents reported living three km or less from the nearest city centre; research shows young people find about three km an acceptable distance for walking, and 12 km an acceptable distance for cycling 38–40 . This interesting modal split, and the reasons behind it, require further exploration.…”

Influence Area of Transit-Oriented Development for Individual Delhi Metro Stations Considering Multimodal Accessibility

“…Adopted from the field of medicine, the ROC analysis has been applied in the field of transportation studies. The ROC curves have been used to estimate the threshold distances walked or cycled by students to a school or university [29][30][31]. This method provides a simple yet effective approach to estimate the threshold distances by comparing the number of active users (people who walk) versus the number of passive users (commuters who use other modes) for different distance ranges.…”