Active or Passive Commuter? Discrepancies in Cut-off Criteria Among Adolescents

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2019 Oct 12

PMID 31600979

Citations 2

Authors

Javier Zaragoza

Ana Corral

Sergio Estrada

Angel Abos

Alberto Aibar

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Active commuting to school has health implications for young people. Previous research has shown the need to consistently define the concept of "active commuter", given that assessment as well as comparison between studies may be hindered by current discrepancies in frequency criteria. Using a sample of 158 Spanish students (12th-13th grade, 60.8% girls), the current study aimed to compare several cut-off criteria to rigorously identify the frequency of weekly active trips to school in order to categorize adolescents as active or passive commuters, and to analyze whether the threshold living distance to school is associated with the different trip cut-off criteria. Percentages of active commuters ranged from 75% to 88.6%, varying significantly depending on the cut-off criteria (5-10 active trips/week) used. The results also support the need to be stricter in the selection of a cut-off criterion when the distance to the school becomes shorter. Our findings highlight the importance of following a standard criterion to classify individuals as active or passive commuters, considering the characteristics of the context in which each study is conducted.

Citing Articles

Lifestyle Behaviours Profile of Spanish Adolescents Who Actively Commute to School.

Martin-Moraleda E, Pinilla-Quintana I, Romero-Blanco C, Hernandez-Martinez A, Jimenez-Zazo F, Dorado-Suarez A Children (Basel). 2023; 10(1).

PMID: 36670646 PMC: 9856640. DOI: 10.3390/children10010095.

Active Commuting to School and Physical Activity Levels among 11 to 16 Year-Old Adolescents from 63 Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Peralta M, Henriques-Neto D, Bordado J, Loureiro N, Diz S, Marques A Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(4).

PMID: 32079217 PMC: 7068453. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17041276.

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