Active Travel to School: Findings From the Survey of US Health Behavior in School-Aged Children, 2009-2010.
Whereas children's active travel to school (ATS) has confirmed benefits, only a few large national surveys of ATS exist.



Using data from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2009-2010 US survey, we conducted a logistic regression model to estimate the odds ratios of ATS and a linear regression model to estimate the adjusted mean differences of the percentage of ATS within a school.



Overall, 21.4% of children engaged in at least one way of active travel to or from school. ATS was less common for trips to school than from school. Greater distance to school was a major barrier preventing children from ATS. Children living in large cities were more likely to engage in ATS, and schools located in a large city had higher proportions of ATS rate. Children having lower family satisfaction, or engaging in a greater number of physically active days during the past week were all more likely to engage in ATS.



Although ATS is low among US children, significant variation exists. HBSC is a promising data source for an ATS study. As the first study to explore the variation of ATS at school level, this research contributes uniquely to current knowledge.
School of Public Health, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152. yyang15@memphis.edu.
Yong
Y
Yang
Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152. ssalyers@memphis.edu.
Stephanie S
SS
Ivey
School of Public Health, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152. mlevy@memphis.edu.
Marian C
MC
Levy
Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152. mstaffrd@memphis.edu.
Marla B
MB
Royne
School of Public Health, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152. lmklsges@memphis.edu.
Lisa M
LM
Klesges
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001642:Bicycling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014186:Transportation / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey; active travel to school; child health; physical activity