Active Travel of Czech and Polish Adolescents in Relation to Their Well-Being: Support for Physical Activity and Health

Karel Frömel, Dorota Groffik, Josef Mitáš, Jan Dygrýn, Petr Valach and Michal Šafář
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Karel Frömel: Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, 77111 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Dorota Groffik: Institute of Sport Science, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, 40-065 Katowice, Poland
Josef Mitáš: Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, 77111 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Jan Dygrýn: Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, 77111 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Petr Valach: Faculty of Education, University of West Bohemia, 301 00 Plzeň, Czech Republic
Michal Šafář: Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, 77111 Olomouc, Czech Republic

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: The adoption of active travel (AT) habits in adolescence, supported by positive emotions, increases the chances of a lifelong positive attitude towards AT. The aim of this study was to assess the associations between active travel and well-being (WB), and to estimate the share of AT in weekly physical activity (PA) and its contribution to meeting the weekly PA recommendations in adolescents. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire—long form and the WHO-5 questionnaire were used to assess the level of AT, weekly PA and well-being of 2805 adolescents from 36 Czech and 39 Polish schools. A higher rate of AT is only significantly associated with higher well-being in girls. However, meeting AT recommendations in combination with higher WB increased the likelihood of meeting the weekly PA recommendations in both girls and boys. AT accounts for 22.5% of weekly PA of Czech (Polish 24.2%) boys. Concerning girls, it accounts for 24.9% of weekly PA in the Czech Republic and 24.5% in Poland. Meeting AT recommendations should be part of comprehensive school-based PA programs. State, school and municipal policies in the Central European region should pay more attention to the improvement of WB and the built environment for AT in secondary school adolescents.

Keywords: IPAQ—long; recommendations; commuting; environment; secondary schools (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 (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:6:p:2001-:d:333839

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