Research Results on School Environment and Active Transportation to School

Active Living Researchwww.activelivingresearch.org

A national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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More parents report children walking or biking to school after Safe Routes to Schools project completion

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Boarnet MG, Anderson CL, Day K, McMillan T, Alfonzo M. Evaluation of the California Safe Routes to School Legislation: Urban form changes and children’s active transportation to school. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2005; 28(2S2):134-140.

Recent evaluations of Safe Routes to Schools projects in California suggest that improvements in sidewalks and street crossings, as well as traffic calming, increase the number of students who walk to school.

Elementary students' on-task classroom behavior improves with physical activity breaks

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Mahar MT, Murphy SK, et al. Effects of a classroom-based program on physical activity and on-task behavior. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2006; 38:2086-2094.

A study of elementary school students in North Carolina found students’ observed on-task classroom behavior improved with daily 10- minute physical activity breaks.

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Implementation of safe routes to school projects

Interventions included speed reducing measures, raised junctions, and installation of traffic signals at junctions

A review of a study* on 104 safe routes to school projects in Odense, Denmark found the number of accidents was reduced from 335 before the projects were implemented to 237 after the projects were implemented. This was an 18% overall reduction.

Andersson PK, Jensen SU. Evaluering af skolevejsprojekter I Odense Kommune. Atkins, Denmark, 2002. Cited in Jensen SU. How to obtain a healthy journey to school. Transportation Research Part A 2008; 42: 475-486..

A 2007 cross-sectional study of low-income and minority youth (N=14,553) using data from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey found youth who live within a half mile of school had a greater likelihood of walking of biking to school, even after controlling for socioeconomic status and neighborhood covariates.

McDonald NC. Critical factors for active transportation to school among low-income and minority students: Evidence from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2008; 34(4): 341-344.

Why did local school wellness policies have minimal impact on physical activity in rural Colorado elementary schools?

•Focus on academic achievement and No Child Left Behind

•School board’s model policy language was weak and minimalist, resulting in missed opportunities to unite stakeholders

•Competing priorities

•Principals’ lack of knowledge about the Local Wellness Policy

•Lack of financial resources for implementation

•Lack of accountability mechanisms

Belansky ES, Cutforth N, Delong E, et al. Early impact of the federally mandated local wellness policy on physical activity in rural, low-income elementary schools in Colorado. Journal of Public Health Policy 2009; 30(S1): S141-S160.

ALR Funded

A study of Massachusetts school children in grades 4-8 (N=1847) found the likelihood of passing academic tests increased for each 1-unit increase in number of fitness tests passed

Chomitz V, Slining M, et al. Is there a relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement? Positive results from public school children in the northeastern United States. Journal of School Health 2009;79(1): 30-37.

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*Measured by FITNESSGRAM® tests based on walking or running and adjusted for age and gender

A study of more than 2.4 million Texas students in grades 3 to 12 found student fitness* and BMI levels correlate with academic test performance, attendance and disciplinary incidents

Welk G. Cardiovascular fitness and body mass index are associated with academic achievement in schools. Dallas, Texas: Cooper Institute, March 2009.http://www.cooperinstitute.org/ourkidshealth/index.cfm

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Fewer disciplinary incidents

*Measured with accelerometers

Hannon JC, Brown BB. Increasing preschoolers’ physical activity intensities: An activity-friendly preschool playground intervention. Preventive Medicine 2009; 46:532-536.

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A 2005 playground intervention study of preschoolers (N=64) in Salt Lake Cityfound that the amount of time engaged in light, moderate, and vigorous intensity physical activity* increased significantly with the introduction of play equipment.

Adolescents in Melbourne, Australia (N=188) are more likely to increase active commuting (walking and biking) to school if their parents are satisfied with the number of traffic lights and pedestrian crossings in their neighborhood

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Hume C, Timperio A, et al. Walking and cycling to school: Predictors of increases among children and adolescents. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2009;26(3): 195-200

Factors related to successful implementation of Texas Senate Bill 19 Coordinated School Health Policy*

•Support from local community organizations•Continued follow-up, evaluation, and refinement

*Based on interviews with 169 principals, assistant principals, nurses, PE teachers, faculty, and counselors

Kelder SH, Springer AS, Barroso CS et al. Implementation of Texas Senate Bill 19 to increase physical activity in elementary schools. Journal of Public Health Policy 2009; 30(S1): S221-S247.

ALR Funded

Key correlates of walking to/from school among elementary school students

in Austin, TX (N=2695)Odds ratio

Physical environmental factors: perceived safety and walkability

Distance close enough (0=no,1=yes) 4.0***

Safety concerns .78***

Presence of physical barriers (0=no, 1=yes)

highway or freeway .62*

Presence of land uses en route (0=no,1=yes)

convenience store .58***

office building .59*

Presence of bus stop en route (0=no,1=yes) .74*

Personal sociodemographic factors:

Parents’ highest education level (range 1-7) .82***

*P<0.05; **P<0.01; ***P<0.001

Zhu X, Lee C. Correlates of walking to school and implications for public policies: Survey results from parents of elementary school children in Austin, Texas. Journal of Public Health Policy 2009; 30(S1): S177-S202.ALR Funded

A New York City study of more than 600,000 students in grades K to 8 found academic test scores increase with physical fitness scores* across all weight categories

NYC Vital Signs special report, New York City Health Dept & Dept of Ed, June 2009

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* Data from 2007-8 NYC FITNESSGRAM reports

A study of 8935 fifth-grade children using self-reported data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey Kindergarten Cohort found children who attended schools with gymnasiums had 8.3 minutes more PE per week than schools without gymnasiums. Schools with gymnasiums in humid climate zones provided even more time in PE (17.4 minutes more in hot-humid zones and 25 minutes more in mixed-humid zones).

Fernandes M, Sturm R. Facility provision in elementary schools: Correlates with physical education, recess, and obesity. Preventive Medicine 2010; 50(S1): S30-S35.

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*Fitness measured by FITNESSGRAM PACER protocol

Voss C and Sandercock G. Aerobic fitness and mode of travel to school in English schoolchildren. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2010; 281-287.

A study of 6085 English schoolchildren ages 10 to 16 years found girls who walked or biked to school were more likely to be classified as fit* compared with girls who used passive transport. Girls who biked were nearly 10 times more likely of being fit.

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Physical activity levels are higher in PE classes in states with high school PE requirements

A study comparing state PE requirements and nationwide data from the Youth Behavior Surveillance System (for 1999, 2001, and 2003) found that high school students with a binding PE requirement were physically active in PE class an average of 37 additional minutes per week for boys and 27 minutes per week for boys.

Cawley J, Meyerhoefer C and Newhouse D. The correlation of youth physical activity with state policies. Contemporary Economic Policy;.16(12):1287-1301, 2007.

A study of 1197 low-income elementary school children in Osceola, Florida found children who participated in a school-based obesity prevention intervention were significantly more likely to score higher on a standardized math test than children who did not participate.

Hollar D, et al. Effect of a two-year obesity prevention intervention on percentile changes in body mass index and academic performance in low-income elementary school children. American Journal of Public Health 2010; 100(4): 646-653.

Changes in physical activity (PA) and sedentary time after school-wide PA promotion

The Intervention Centered on Adolescents’ Physical Activity and Sedentary behavior, or ICAPS*, was conducted in eight randomly selected schools in eastern France. After only six months, physical activity outside of PE class increased by 16 minutes per week for adolescents in the ICAPS schools.

Simon C, Wagner A, DiVita C, Rauscher E, Klein-Platat C, Arveiler D et al. Intervention centered on adolescents’ physical activity and sedentary behavior (ICAPS): concepts and 6-months results. International Journal of Obesity. 2004; 28:S96-S103

Intervention Girls Control Girls Intervention Boys Control Boys

* ICAPS included partnerships among schools boards, teachers, recreation professionals, medical staffs, and others, and consisted of an educational component, additional opportunities for physical activity during schools hours, and reduction of barriers for after-school participation.

A study of 9,268 low-income, predominantly Latino seventh and ninth grade students in California found students who had a full year of PE, enjoyed PE, walked to school, and used school grounds outside of school hours were significantly more likely to have greater fitness.

*Significant results found among seventh grade students

Madsen KA et al. Physical activity opportunities associated with fitness and weight status among adolescents in low-income communities. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine 2009; 163(11): 1014-1021.

Fernandes M. and Sturm R. The Role of School Physical Activity Programs in Child Body Mass Trajectory. Journal of Physical Activity and Health 2011;8(2): 174–181. ALR Funded.

A national study of 8,246 children in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades found that boys and girls who do not meet NASPE recommended levels have a higher predicted BMI percentile than those who do; however the difference is only statistically significant for boys

Predicted BMI Percentile Trajectory by Gender and Meeting the NASPE Recommended Levels for PE or Recess

A study of 15,305 children ages eight to nine years shows that children who had some recess had significantly better classroom behavior* compared with children who had no recess.

Barros RM et al. School Recess and Group Classroom Behavior. Pediatrics 2009; 123:431-436

*Classroom behavior was based on teacher’s ratings

Martinez-Gomez D et al. Active Commuting to School and Cognitive Performance in Adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2010; E1-E6.

A study of 1700 adolescents in five Spanish cities found that girls, but not boys, who actively commuted to school (walked or biked)* had significantly better cognitive performance** than girls that did not actively commute to school.

*Active commuters were students who indicated that their usual mode of travel to school was walking or biking

**Cognitive performance was measured using the Spanish version of the SRA Test of Educational Ability, which evaluates verbal, numeric, and reasoning abilities.

A study* of 149 fourth-graders at eight elementary schools in Houston, TX found that students who participated in a Walking School Bus (WSB) program increased their rates of walking to school by 30%. This was in contrast to students who did not participate in the Walking School Bus program whose rates of walking or biking to school decreased by 7%.

*This is the first study to report a cluster randomized control trial of a walking school bus intervention that resulted in increased rates of children’s active commuting to school.

Mendoza JA et al. The Walking School Bus and Children’s Physical Activity: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. Pediatrics. Originally published onlineAugust 22, 2011 ; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2010-3486

Walking School Bus Increases Percent of Weekly Trips Spent Walking or Biking to School

A study* of 149 fourth-graders at eight elementary schools in Houston, TX found that students who participated in a Walking School Bus (WSB) program increased their daily amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) by 2 minutes, whereas the children who did not participate decreased their amount of MVPA by 5 minutes.

*This is the first study to report a cluster randomized control trial of a walking school bus intervention that resulted in increased time spent in daily MVPA.

Mendoza JA et al. The Walking School Bus and Children’s Physical Activity: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. Pediatrics. Originally published onlineAugust 22, 2011 ; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2010-3486

Walking School Bus Increases Time Spent in Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity

Adolescent girls who walk or bike to school have better cognitive performance

Martinez-Gomez D. et al. Active Commuting to School and Cognitive Performance in Adolescents. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Published online December 6, 2010. DOI:10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.244

A study of 1700 adolescents in Spain found that girls who actively commuted to school (ACS) by walking or biking performed better on cognitive performance tests (verbal, numerical, and reasoning abilities) than girls who did not actively commute.

Findings from an intervention at a Florida elementary school show that 96% of the school's first-graders were active during recess in 2011 after the intervention , compared with 52% of first graders being active during recess in 2008 before the intervention. The intervention used Peaceful Playgrounds, a program specifically designed to promote active play and structured activities by employing a wide variety of multi-use stenciled shapes, grids and games painted onto the ground.

Study results published by NACCHO, Peaceful Playgrounds: Using Evidence-Based Strategies and Quality Improvement to Address Childhood Obesity in Florida: http://www.peacefulplaygrounds.com/pdf/naccho-obesity-study.pdf