According to a study co-authored by a Rutgers researcher, young kids who ride their bikes or walk to school are likelier to keep up the healthy practice as they age. The study stating that early walking habits can benefit a person's health in the long run, was released in Preventive Medicine Reports.
Statistics on American Children's Commuting to School
Data from the National Household Travel Survey shows that approximately 11% of American children commute by foot or bicycle to or from school, which has not changed in 10 years. The study's authors discovered that children are much more likely to continue actively commuting later in their academic careers.
Children Who Walk or Bike to School Continue the Habit
Between 2009 and 2017, in four primarily low-income New Jersey cities: Camden, New Brunswick, Newark, and Trenton, the researchers asked parents and caregivers about their children's school travel habits twice, two to four years apart (baseline and follow-up). Their goal was to determine whether active commuting persisted over time.
The New Jersey Child Health Study tracked kids aged 3 to 15 and gathered information from 587 homes. Tulloch and coworkers at the Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis at Rutgers assessed the distance to school and other spatial parameters.
More than 75% of kids who commuted actively at baseline did so again two to four years later, according to the study's findings. By the time of the follow-up, however, few people who had not previously done so had started doing it. In fact, compared to kids who didn't actively commute to school at baseline, kids who actively commuted two to four years later were seven times more likely to do so.
Data Analysis on Children Commuting to School
According to the study's primary author, Robin DeWeese, an assistant research professor in Arizona State University's College of Health Solutions, most children don't get 60 minutes of physical activity daily. He said that one approach to increasing that activity is to commute to school actively.
DeWeese advises that communities and schools support active commuting throughout the early grades because it may also benefit children in higher grades.
Students Walking Road
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Based on demographic traits and opinions of the community, active commuting varies. Children of parents who believed their neighborhood was safe from crime were more than 2.5 times as likely to engage in active commuting. Compared to children whose parents were born in the US, those whose parents were born abroad were less likely to engage in active commuting.
According to Tulloch, the distance between home and school was the biggest and most constant challenge. Because middle and high schools are bigger and less visible than elementary schools, the distance to school frequently increases as kids get older. As a result, as kids enter high school, the chance of active commuting tends to decline.
Researchers' Suggestions to Walk-Friendly Roads
According to Tulloch, this trend can be halted with smarter urban planning. Children can be encouraged to commute early through remote drop-offs and walk school buses actively. He stated that infrastructure upgrades like sidewalks and streets surrounded by trees could improve the walking experience.
The High Line is one of the most popular tourist destinations in New York City, according to Tulloch. There are no cars, and it is a walkable, green area. He advised that we carry out this kind of planning everywhere, but particularly in areas around schools.
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