Correlates of Active Commuting to School among Portuguese Adolescents: An Ecological Model Approach

Nuno Loureiro, Vânia Loureiro, Alberto Grao-Cruces, João Martins and Margarida Gaspar de Matos
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Nuno Loureiro: Projeto Aventura Social, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada da Costa, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada, Portugal
Vânia Loureiro: Projeto Aventura Social, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada da Costa, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada, Portugal
Alberto Grao-Cruces: GALENO Research Group, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Cadiz, 11519 Puerto Real, Spain
João Martins: ISAMB/Faculdade de Medicina, Centro de Investigação Apoiado Pela Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
Margarida Gaspar de Matos: Projeto Aventura Social, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada da Costa, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-10

Abstract: Active commuting to and from school can be an important contribution to improving health in adolescents. This study aimed to analyze the influence of multilevel variables of the ecological model in the active commuting of a representative sample of Portuguese adolescents. The 2018 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children questionnaire was applied to 5695 adolescents with an average age of 15.5 years old (SD ± 1.8), 53.9% of whom were girls. The associations were studied by applying chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression models. In this study, 36.5% of the participants reported walking or cycling to school. Active commuting to school was directly associated with age (OR = 1.2; p < 0.05), strong family support (OR = 1.2; p < 0.05), a moderate to low financial level of the family (OR = 1.3; p < 0.05) and living near the school (OR = 2.4; p < 0.05). The results revealed that an adolescent’s choice to travel to and from school using an active mode of transportation increased with strong family support. As a result, promotion campaigns should consider the adolescent’s family context.

Keywords: teenagers; active transportation; walking; family; social support; financial level (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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