title: Statewide prevalence and correlates of walking and bicycling to school.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Travel to and from school can be an important and regular source of physical activity for youth. Few US studies have documented the prevalence and correlates of walking and bicycling to school.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the prevalence and correlates of walking and bicycling to school among middle and high school youth.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty middle schools and 62 high schools selected in North Carolina.
  
  
  METHODS
  Students in 6th through 8th grades (n = 2151) and in 9th through 12th grades (n = 2297) during the spring of 2001.
  
  
  METHODS
  Walking or bicycling to school in a usual week.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among middle school students, 9.4% usually walked to school and 4.1% usually bicycled to school at least 1 day per week. Among high school students, 4.9% usually walked to school and 2.8% usually bicycled to school at least 1 day per week. For middle school youth, walking or bicycling to school was more prevalent among boys and among nonwhites. For high school youth, walking or bicycling to school was also more prevalent among nonwhites. For middle school youth (but not high school youth), a higher body mass index (85th to less than 95th percentile) was associated with a reduced odds of walking to school. For high school youth (but not middle school youth), participating in physical education 1 to 4 days per week or never having an adult at home immediately after school was associated with walking or bicycling to school. Higher parental educational level was associated with a reduced odds of walking to school among high school youth.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The descriptive information provided by this study broadens our limited understanding of the prevalence and correlates of walking and bicycling to school in the United States. Further qualitative and quantitative descriptive data are needed to develop successful interventions to increase walking and bicycling to school.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27514, USA. kelly_evenson@unc.edu
authors.forename: Kelly R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Evenson
authors.forename: Sara L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Huston
authors.forename: Bradley J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: McMillen
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bors
authors.forename: Dianne S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001642:Bicycling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009657:North Carolina; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*