title: Driving down daily step counts: the impact of being driven to school on physical activity and sedentary behavior.
abstract: This study investigated whether being driven to school was associated with lower weekday and weekend step counts, less active out-of-school leisure pursuits, and more sedentary behavior. Boys aged 10-13 years (n = 384) and girls aged 9-13 years (n = 500) attending 25 Australian primary schools wore a pedometer and completed a travel diary for one week. Parents and children completed surveys capturing leisure activity, screen time, and sociodemographics. Commute distance was objectively measured. Car travel was the most frequent mode of school transportation (boys: 51%, girls: 58%). After adjustment (sociodemographics, commute distance, and school clustering) children who were driven recorded fewer weekday steps than those who walked (girls: -1,393 steps p < .001, boys: -1,569 steps, p = .009) and participated in fewer active leisure activities (girls only: p = .043). There were no differences in weekend steps or screen time. Being driven to and from school is associated with less weekday pedometer-determined physical activity in 9- to 13-year-old elementary-school children. Encouraging children, especially girls, to walk to and from school (even for part of the way for those living further distances) could protect the health and well-being of those children who are insufficiently active.
authors.affiliation: University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia.
authors.forename: Georgina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trapp
authors.forename: Billie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giles-Corti
authors.forename: Hayley
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Christian
authors.forename: Anna F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Timperio
authors.forename: Gavin R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: McCormack
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bulsara
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Villanueva
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001334:Automobile Driving; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012574:Schools; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students; D014186:Transportation / Q000379:methods*; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology; D014904:Western Australia