title: Walking and cycling to school: predictors of increases among children and adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about what happens to active commuting as children get older, and less is known about influences on changes in this behavior. This study examined predictors of increases in children's and adolescents' active commuting (walking or cycling) to/from school over a 2-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were initially recruited and assessed in 2001. Follow-up data were collected in 2004 and 2006 and analyzed in 2008. Participants were 121 children (aged 9.1+/-0.34 years in 2004) and 188 adolescents (aged 14.5+/-0.65 years in 2004) from Melbourne, Australia. Parents and adolescents reported their perceptions of individual-level factors and of the neighborhood social and physical environment. Weekly active commuting (walking or cycling) to/from school, ranging from 0 to 10 trips/week was also proxy- or self-reported at the initial measurement and again 2 years later. Logistic regression analyses examined predictors of increases in active commuting over time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children whose parents knew many people in their neighborhood were more likely to increase their active commuting (OR=2.6; CI=1.2, 5.9; p=0.02) compared with other children. Adolescents whose parents perceived there to be insufficient traffic lights and pedestrian crossings in their neighborhood were less likely to increase their active commuting over 2 years (OR=0.4; CI=0.2, 0.8; p=0.01), whereas adolescents of parents who were satisfied with the number of pedestrian crossings were more likely to increase their active commuting (OR=2.4; CI=1.1, 5.4; p=0.03) compared with other adolescents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Social factors and physical environmental characteristics were the most important predictors of active commuting in children and adolescents, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia. clare.hume@deakin.edu.au
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hume
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Timperio
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carver
authors.forename: Billie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giles-Corti
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crawford
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001642:Bicycling / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D002648:Child; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014186:Transportation / Q000379:methods*; D014739:Victoria; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends