February 03, 2011
Children who travel by car to school are less active
overall
New research part-funded by us, shows that children
whose parents drive them to school lead less active lifestyles
overall than those who walk, cycle or take public transport.
Researchers from St George’s, University of
London assessed over 2000 children aged nine and 10 living in urban
areas across England. The children wore movement monitors to
measure the time they spent doing light, moderate or vigorous
activity. The results showed that children travelling to
school by car were less active throughout the week.
Our Associate Medical Director, Dr Mike
Knapton, said:“With around a third of children classified
as overweight or obese today it’s essential we do
everything possible to encourage young people to lead a healthier
lifestyle.
Swapping the car for a more active journey will get kids on the move more
“It’s obvious that
walking or cycling to school increases a child’s
physical activity levels. However, this study
found
using public transport to travel to school
also had a positive impact on children’s exercise levels.
“What is clear is that simply swapping
the car for a more active journey will get kids on the
move more and could help exercise to become part of their daily
habits. It’s also important for local authorities to feature public
health more strongly in transport and planning policies. Safe
cycling routes and good public transport links are important for
everyone.”
Our Food4Thought
campaign aims to help tackle childhood obesity and
get kids leading a healthier lifestyle. We have a wide range of
resources available to help get
children fit and healthy.
The research was published online in the
journal PLoS ONE and was funded by the BHF, the
Wellcome Trust and the National Prevention Research Initiative
(NPRI)