Association between Different Modes of Travelling and Adiposity in Chilean Population: Findings from the Chilean National Health Survey 2016–2017

Ignacio Medina, Fanny Petermann-Rocha, Heather Waddell, Ximena Díaz-Martínez, Carlos Matus-Castillo, Igor Cigarroa, Yeny Concha-Cisternas, Carlos Salas-Bravo, Maria A Martínez-Sanguinetti, Carlos Celis-Morales and ELHOC-Research Team
Additional contact information
Ignacio Medina: British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK
Fanny Petermann-Rocha: British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK
Heather Waddell: British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK
Ximena Díaz-Martínez: Grupo de Investigación en Calidad de Vida, Departamento de Ciencias de la Educación, Facultad de Educación y Humanidades, Universidad del Biobío, Chillán 378000, Chile
Carlos Matus-Castillo: Departamento de Ciencias del Deporte y Acondicionamiento Físico, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, 4090541 Concepción, Chile
Igor Cigarroa: Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Salud, Universidad Santo Tomás, Santiago 8370003, Chile
Yeny Concha-Cisternas: Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Salud, Universidad Santo Tomás, Santiago 8370003, Chile
Carlos Salas-Bravo: Departamento de Educación Física, Facultad de Educación, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4070386, Chile
Maria A Martínez-Sanguinetti: Instituto de Farmacia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia 5090000, Chile
Carlos Celis-Morales: British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK
ELHOC-Research Team: ELHOC Team co-authors are listed in Appendix A.

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: Background: Active travel has been suggested as a feasible way of increasing physical activity levels. Although international studies have demonstrated its effect over different health outcomes and adiposity, there is still limited evidence on this topic in developing countries, such as Chile. Aim: To investigate the associations between different types of travelling and markers of obesity in the Chilean adult population. Methods: 5411 participants from the Chilean National Health Survey 2016–2017 (CNHS) were included in this study. Active travel was assessed using a questionnaire. Car commuters, public transport (PT), walking and cycling were the four forms of travelling assessed. Bodyweight, body mass index and waist circumference were used as markers of adiposity. Results: Compared to car travellers, body weight, WC and BMI levels were lower for PT walking and cycling travellers. The odds for obesity (Odds ratio (OR): 0.41 (95% CI: 0.28; 0.61 p ? 0.001) were lower for walking and the odds (OR: 0.56 (95%CI: 0.35; 0.89 p = 0.014) for central obesity were significantly lower for cyclist in comparison to car travellers. Additionally, participation in any form of active travel (walking or cycling) was low, with only 20.9% of the population reporting being active travellers. Conclusion: Active travel, such as walking and cycling, was associated with lower adiposity levels in the Chilean adult population. Promoting active travel could be a feasible strategy to tackle the high prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity in the Chilean population.

Keywords: active travel; physical activity; adiposity; transportation; obesity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/10/3731/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/10/3731/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:10:p:3731-:d:362630

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().