title: Active commuting to school among NSW primary school children: implications for public health.
abstract: Regular active commuting by walking/cycling can help maintain an active lifestyle. The frequency, duration and correlates of school active commuting were examined for primary school children in NSW, Australia. Walking/cycling-only and in combination with bus/car were of short duration (median 7 or 4 min, respectively) and their frequency dropped within a short distance (>0.75 km) from school. Apart from distance, child's age, school affiliation and perceived safety, regular walking/cycling (10 trips, 22%) was associated with parents' travel mode to work and with father taking the child to school. Frequent walking/cycling (5 trips, 37%) was associated with child's level of independence and the perceived benefits of active commuting. Behaviour change in this setting requires multi-level strategies.
authors.affiliation: NSW Centre for Physical Activity and Health, University of New South Wales, NSW, Australia. dafnam@health.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Dafna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Merom
authors.forename: Catrine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tudor-Locke
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bauman
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rissel
mesh_terms: D001642:Bicycling; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales; D011634:Public Health; D012574:Schools; D014186:Transportation; D016138:Walking