Active travel to school and cardiovascular fitness in Danish children and adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
Active travel to school provides an opportunity for daily physical activity. Previous studies have shown that walking and cycling to school are associated with higher physical activity levels. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the way that children and adolescents travel to school is associated with level of cardiovascular fitness.


METHODS
Participants were recruited via a proportional, two-stage cluster sample of schools (N = 25) in the region of Odense, Denmark as part of the European Youth Heart Study (EYHS). Nine hundred nineteen participants (529 children, age 9.7 +/- 0.5 yr; 390 adolescents, age 15.5 +/- 0.4 yr) completed a maximal cycle ergometer test to assess cardiorespiratory fitness (Wmax x kg(-1)). Mode of travel to school was investigated by questionnaire. Physical activity was measured in 531 participants using an accelerometer. Regression analyses with robust standard errors and adjustment for confounders (gender, age, body composition (skinfolds), pubertal status, and physical activity) and the cluster sampling procedure were used to compare fitness levels for different travel modes. Multinomial logistic regression was applied to assess the odds for belonging to quartiles of fitness.


RESULTS
Children and adolescents who cycled to school were significantly more fit than those who walked or traveled by motorized transport and were nearly five times as likely (OR 4.8; 95% CI 2.8-8.4) to be in the top quartile of fitness.


CONCLUSIONS
Cycling to school may contribute to higher cardiovascular fitness in young people.
Cooper
Ashley R
AR
Department of Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Bristol, United Kingdom. ashley.cooper@bris.ac.uk
Wedderkopp
Niels
N
Wang
Han
H
Andersen
Lars Bo
LB
Froberg
Karsten
K
Page
Angie S
AS
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001642:Bicycling / Q000502:physiology*; D002319:Cardiovascular System; D002648:Child; D003718:Denmark; D016552:Ergometry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012119:Respiration; D012572:School Health Services; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*