ArticleBMJ open2021
Associations of active travel with adiposity among children and socioeconomic differentials: a longitudinal study.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Mediators of socioeconomic differences in overweight and obesity among youth in Ireland and the UK (2011-2021): a systematic review.BMC public health · 2022Pooled it
- Children's independent mobility in Japan: travelling to, returning from, and playing within local parks.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- Policy on the move: active travel to school among 7-16-year-olds in Wales and its links to school policy and socio-demographic factors.BMC public health · 2026Article
- A scoping review of children's and adolescents' active travel in China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Active travel to school: a longitudinal millennium cohort study of schooling outcomes.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Motivation and Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction in Active Travel to Different Destinations: A Cluster Analysis with Adolescents Living in Germany.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Effect of built environment on BMI of older adults in regions of different socio-economic statuses.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Age-Specific Quantification of Overweight/Obesity Risk Factors From Infancy to Adolescence and Differences by Educational Level of Parents.International journal of public health · 2023Article
- Equity in temporary street closures: The case of London's Covid-19 'School Streets' schemes.Transportation research. Part D, Transport and environment · 2022Article
- Physical fitness mediates the inverse association between fatness indicators and academic achievement, despite the school vulnerability of adolescents-The Cogni-Action Project.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesExamine longitudinal associations between modes of travel to school and adiposity.
settingThe UK.
participants8432 children surveyed at ages 7, 11 and 14 years from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Objective percentage body fat and body mass index (BMI). Transport mode was categorised as private motorised transport, public transport and active transport (walking or cycling). Socioeconomic position (SEP) was measured by household income group and occupational social class. We adjusted analyses for changes in the country of UK, frequency of eating breakfast, self-reported growth spurts, hours of screen time and days per week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Longitudinal (panel) regression models adjusting for individual fixed effects examined associations in changes in mode of travel to school and adiposity, controlling for both time-varying and time-invariant potential confounders. Interaction tests and stratified analyses investigated differences by markers of SEP.
resultsAt age 14 years, 26.1% of children (2198) reported using private motorised transport, 35.3% (2979) used public transport and 38.6% (3255) used active transport to get to school. 36.6% (3083) of children changed mode two times between the three waves and 50.7% (4279) changed once. Compared with continuing to use private transport, switching to active transport was associated with a lower BMI (-0.21 kg/m
conclusionThis longitudinal study during a key life course period found switching to physically active forms of travel can have beneficial adiposity impacts; these associations may be more apparent for more disadvantaged children. Increasing active travel has potential to ameliorate inequalities.
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