Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(3):151-156 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3592

Prevalence and Correlates of Active Traveling to School among Adolescents in Cyprus

Constantinos A. Loucaides1,2, Russell Jago3, Maria Theophanous4
1 Centre of Educational Research and Evaluation, Ministry of Education and Culture, Nicosia, Cyprus
2 Department of Education, The Open University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
3 Department of Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, U.K.
4 Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, Ministry of Education and Culture, Nicosia, Cyprus

More data regarding prevalence and correlates of active travel to school are needed from different parts of the world. The purpose of this study was to examine prevalence and correlates of active travel to school among adolescents in Cyprus. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1966 adolescents attending grade 6, grades 7-9, grades 10-12 and technical/vocational schools in Cyprus. Overall prevalence of active travel to school was 19.4%. Parental perceptions of safe route to school, other children walking to school from the child's neighborhood and school location (urban versus rural) were associated with active travel across different levels of education. Having enough time to walk to school in the morning was the most consistent correlate of active travel. Low prevalence estimates of active traveling to school among adolescents in Cyprus raise the need to promote this source of daily physical activity.

Keywords: Cyprus, adolescents, active travel, commute, correlates

Received: November 26, 2009; Revised: February 10, 2010; Accepted: February 10, 2010; Published: September 1, 2010  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Loucaides CA, Jago R, Theophanous M. Prevalence and Correlates of Active Traveling to School among Adolescents in Cyprus. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2010;18(3):151-156. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a3592. PubMed PMID: 21033610.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Strong WB, Malina RM, Blimkie CJ, Daniels SR, Dishman RK, Gutin B, at al. Evidence based physical activity for school-age youth. J Pediatr. 2005 Jun;146(6):732-7. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    2. Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness; Council on School Health. Active healthy living: prevention of childhood obesity through increased physical activity. Pediatrics. 2006 May;117(5):1834-42. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    3. Tudor-Locke C, Ainsworth BE, Popkin BM. Active commuting to school: an overlooked source of childrens'physical activity? Sports Med. 2001;31(5):309-13. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    4. Jago R, Baranowski T. Non-curricular approaches for increasing physical activity in youth: a review. Prev Med. 2004 Jul;39(1):157-63. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    5. Pate RR, Davis MG, Robinson TN, Stone EJ, McKenzie TL, Young JC. Promoting physical activity in children and youth: a leadership role for schools: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Council on Nutrition, PhysicalActivity, and Metabolism (PhysicalActivity Committee) in collaboration with the Councils on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young and Cardiovascular Nursing. Circulation. 2006 Sep 2;114(11):1214-24. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    6. CooperAR,Andersen LB, Wedderkopp N, PageAS, Froberg K. Physical activity levels of children who walk, cycle, or are driven to school. Am J Prev Med. 2005 Oct;29(3):179-84. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    7. Lee MC, Orenstein MR, Richardson MJ. Systematic review of active commuting to school and children's physical activity and weight. J Phys Act Health. 2008 Nov;5(6):930-49. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    8. Van der Ploeg HP, Merom D, Corpuz G, BaumanAE. Trends inAustralian children traveling to school 1971-2003: burning petrol or carbohydrates? Prev Med. 2008 Jan;46(1):60-2. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    9. Evenson KR, Huston SL, McMillen BJ, Bors P, Ward DS. Statewide prevalence and correlates of walking and bicycling to school.Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2003 Sep;157(9):887-92. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    10. Robertson-Wilson JE, Leatherdale ST, Wong SL. Social-ecological correlates of active commuting to school among high school students. J Adolesc Health. 2008 May;42(5):486-95. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    11. Booth ML, Okely AD, Denney-Wilson E, Hardy LL, Dobbins T, Wen L-M, et al. Characteristics of travel to and from school among adolescents in NSW, Australia. J Paediatr Child Health. 2007 Nov;43(11):755-61. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    12. Merom D, Tudor-Locke C, Bauman A, Rissel C. Active commuting to school among NSW primary school children: implications for public health. Health Place. 2006 Dec;12(4):678-87. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    13. Tudor-Locke C,Ainsworth BE,Adair LS, Popkin BM. Objective physical activity of filipino youth stratified for commuting mode to school. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003 Mar;35(3):465-71. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    14. Van Sluijs EM, Fearne VA, Mattocks C, Riddoch C, Griffin SJ, Ness A. The contribution of active travel to children's physical activity levels: cross-sectional results from the ALSPAC study. Prev Med. 2009 Jun;48(6):519-524. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    15. Bere E, van der Horst K, OenemaA, Prins R, Brug J. Socio-demographic factors as correlates of active commuting to school in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Prev Med. 2008 Oct;47(4):412-6. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    16. Bringolf-Isler B, Grize L, Mäder U, Ruch N, Sennhauser FH, BraunFahrländer C; SCARPOL team. Personal and environmental factors associated with active commuting to school in Switzerland. Prev Med. 2008 Jan;46(1):67-73. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    17. CooperAR, Wedderkopp N, Wang H,Andersen LB, Froberg K, PageAS. Active travel to school and cardiovascular fitness in Danish children and adolescents. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Oct;38(10):1724-31. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    18. Timperio A, Ball K, Salmon J, Roberts R, Giles-Corti B, Simmons D, et al. Personal, family, social, and environmental correlates of active commuting to school. Am J Prev Med. 2006 Jan;30(1):45-51. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    19. Kerr J, Rosenberg D, Sallis JF, Saelens BE, Frank LD, Conway TL. Active commuting to school: associations with environment and parental concerns. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Apr;38(4):787-94. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    20. McDonald NC. Children's mode choice for the school trip: the role of distance and school location in walking to school. Transportation. 2008 Jan;35(1):23-35. Go to original source...
    21. Panter JR, Jones AP, van Sluijs EMF. Environmental determinants of active travel in youth: a review and framework for future research. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2008 Jun 23;5(1):34. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    22. Hume C, Timperio A, Salmon J, Carver A, Giles-Corti B, Crawford D. Walking and cycling to school: predictors of increases among children and adolescents. Am J Prev Med. 2009 Mar;36(3):195-200. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    23. Faulkner GE, Buliung RN, Flora PK, Fusco C. Active school transport, physical activity levels and body weight of children and youth: a systematic review. Prev Med. 2009 Jan;48(1):3-8. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    24. Cavill N, Biddle S, Sallis JF. Health enhancing physical activity for young people: Statement of the United Kingdom Expert Consensus Conference. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2001 Feb;13(1):12-25. Go to original source...
    25. Lobstein TJ, James WPT, Cole TJ. Increasing levels of excess weight among children in England. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 Sep;27(9):1136-8. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    26. Cole TJ, Bellizzi MC, Flegal KM, Dietz WH. Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. BMJ. 2000 May 6;320(7244):1240-3. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    27. International Road Federation. The IRF world road statistics 2006: data 1999-2004. Geneva: IRF; 2006.
    28. Department of Road Transport [Internet]. Nicosia: Cyprus Ministry of Communications and Work [cited 2010 Apr 10]. Available from: www. mcw.gov.cy/mcw/rtd/rtd.nsf/dmlindex_gr/dmlindex_gr?OpenDocument.
    29. Rosenberg DE, Sallis JF, Conway TL, Cain KL, McKenzie TL. Active transportation to school over 2 years in relation to weight status and physical activity. Obesity. 2006 Oct;14(10):1771-6. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    30. Martin SL, Lee SM, Lowry R. National prevalence and correlates of walking and bicycling to school.Am J Prev Med. 2007Aug;33(2):98-105. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...

    Return to the content