Walking and cycling, as active transportation, and obesity factors in adolescents from eight countries

Abstract

Background Evidence has shown that active transportation decreases obesity rates, but considering walking or cycling as separate modes could provide additional information on the health benefits in adolescents. This study aimed to examine the associations between walking and cycling as form active transportation and obesity indicators in Latin American adolescents. Methods Population-based study with 671 adolescents (mean age: 15.9 [standard deviation: 0.8] years) from eight countries participating in the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health/Estudio Latino Americano Nutrition y Salud (ELANS). Walking and cycling for active transportation were measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire long version. Body mass index, waist circumference, neck circumference, and relative fat mass were used as obesity indicators. Associations were estimated using logistic regression models for the pooled data adjusted for country, sex, age, socio-economic levels, race/ethnicity, leisure-time physical activity and energy intake. Results Mean time spent walking and cycling was 22.6 (SD: 33.1) and 5.1 (SD: 24.1) min/day, respectively. The median values were 12.8 (IQR: 4.2; 25.7) and 0 (IQR: 0; 6.2) for walking and cycling. Participants reporting ≥ 10 min/week of walking or cycling for active transportation were 84.2% and 15.5%, respectively. Costa Rica (94.3% and 28.6%) showed the highest prevalence for walking and cycling, respectively, while Venezuela (68.3% and 2.4%) showed the lowest prevalence. There was no significant association between walking for active transportation and any obesity indicator. In the overall sample, cycling for ≥ 10 min/week was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of overweight/obesity based on BMI (OR: 0.86; 95%CI: 0.88; 0.94) and waist circumference (OR: 0.90; 95%CI: 0.83; 0.97) adjusted for country, sex, age, socio-economic level, race/ethnicity, leisure-time physical activity and energy intake compared to cycling for < 10 min/week. There were no significant associations between cycling for active transportation and neck circumference as well as relative fat mass. Conclusions Cycling for active transportation was negatively associated with obesity indicators, especially body mass index and waist circumference. Programs for promoting cycling for active transportation could be a feasible strategy to tackle the high obesity rates in adolescents in Latin America. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT02226627. Retrospectively registered on August 27, 2014.

Effect of Integration of Sports and Medicine on the Intervention of Childhood Simple Obesity

“…Instead, exercise intervention for obesity has made major progress in both basic and clinical research [12] . Exercise has been shown to dramatically lower children's BMI, triglyceride and blood cholesterol levels while raising high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels [13][14][15] . This suggests that e cient and sustained exercise may be effective in controlling the weight and lipid indices of obese children.…”

A Meta-Analysis of Evidence Synthesis for a Healthy Campus Built Environment by Adopting Active Design Approaches to Promote Physical Activity

“…In the UK, an active design has been commissioned by Sport England [5,12] to promote new environments that offer opportunities for communities to be naturally active as part of their daily lives. In promoting physical activity, walking, and cycling (referred to as active travel) [13], the active design integrates several converging agendas: the first is "the design agenda-the promotion of high-quality inclusive design of buildings and public spaces is a key principle of the planning system"; the second is "the health agenda-physical activity is fundamental to the public health and wellbeing of the nation and is central to arresting increasing trends in obesity among adults and children" [9]; and the third and last one is "the transport agenda-the promotion of active travel modes reflects government transport policy seeking to promote more sustainable and environmentally friendly modes of transport".…”