Childrens activity: Travel to school and the environment

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Childrens activity Travel to school and the
environment

• Ashley Cooper
• Angie Page
• Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences
• ashley.cooper_at_bris.ac.uk
• a.s.page_at_bris.ac.uk

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Travel to school in the UK
National Travel Survey 2003
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Physical activity and how children travel to
school
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Cooper et al Am J Prev Med 2003
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Denmark
Philippines


USA
Scotland
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When do the main differences in
activity occur?





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Integration of accelerometer and GPS data What
does it tell us?

• GPS
• Where children go outdoors
• When children are outdoors
• Speed of movement
• Spatial movement within the environment

• Accelerometer
• Volume
• Intensity
• Pattern
• Levels of physical activity within the environment

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Bristol feasibility study

• 26 primary school children (11yrs)
• GPS and Actigraph recording at 1 min intervals
  (clock synchronised)
• 3.30pm onwards and to school next day

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1km
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Environmental influences on physical activity

• Increased reliance on car travel and lack of
  infrastructure to support walking cycling may
  act as barriers to physical activity
• Environmental perceptions show some associations
  with physical activity in children and adults
• Relatively limited data linking built environment
  to physical activity
• Is the physical activity behaviour of children
  influenced by the neighbourhood in which they
  live?

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The PEACHPA ProjectPersonal and Environmental
Associations with Children's Health Physical
Activity

• National Prevention Research Initiative

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PEACHPA Study Design

• Longitudinal study from last year of primary to
  first year of secondary school
• 1000 year 6 children
• Follow up in year 7
• Objective measures of how active children are in
  relation to where they go
• Physical and social environmental determinants of
  physical activity
• Develop theoretical framework for influences on
  childrens physical activity
• Examine physical activity and other lifestyle
  behaviours in relation to obesity and pubertal
  status

Health survey for England 2002
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What will this tell us?

• Whether physical activity declines from primary
  to secondary school
• Whether physical activity levels are associated
  with the built environment
• Where outdoors do children go to be physically
  active?
• Is access/proximity to green spaces associated
  with different physical activity levels and use
  of these spaces?
• Do associations between activity and environment
  differ by gender/age/obesity/social position?
• What is the relative importance of environmental
  determinants in explaining physical activity
  behaviour?
• Home environment
• School environment
• Individual

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Potential influences on children's physical
activity behaviour
Who are you? (Personal status)
Age Gender Personality Overweight
Ethnicity
Where do you live?
Built environment (neighbourhood)
Home environment (household)
Objective
Perceptions
Objective
Perceptions
Facilities Transport networks Housing
density Green spaces Crime rates
Family support Peer support House/room
space License Parental behaviour
Parental Social status Family structure Parental
work Parental control House space
Accessibility Aesthetics Safety
(road/personal) Neighbourhood safety
Where do you go to school? (School environment)
Objective
Perceptions
Teacher/school support Active friend
network Playspace accessibility
School Social status Active school
policy Playground space Sports facilities/opportun
ities
How do you feel about doing the behaviour?
(Orientation)
Motivation Autonomy/control
Enjoyment Attitude
Self-efficacy Competence
Physical activity behaviour (characteristics)
Who you exercise with? Where exercise
takes place? How long it lasts?
How much effort it is?
(Company) (Location) (Duration)
(Intensity) What type of
activity do you choose (mode)
Structured sport
Structured activity
Free Play
Travel
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Think about yesterday 1) What day was it? _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
2) What time did you wake up? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Here is an EXAMPLE of how to fill in the
table in your activity diary Remember your
answers will be different
3) School finished at _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
4) What time did you go to sleep? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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Implications for intervention

• Multiple unhealthy behaviours relate to obesity
  and risk
• Sedentary behaviours, sleep, physical activity,
  breakfast etc.
• These unhealthy behaviours cluster together
• Children can be identified with these profiles
• Provides a possible mechanism for identifying
  those most at risk
• Need to understand which are the causal
  behaviours
• By changing some behaviours we may indirectly
  impact on others
• Need to understand the trigger/gateway behaviours
• Need to understand determinants of unhealthy
  profiles and how it relates to health behaviours
• What is the best way to manipulate them/change
  behaviour?
• Points to family based intervention
  evening/morning behaviours

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Acknowledgements

• PEACH team
• Melvyn Hillsdon
• Russ Jago
• Ken Fox
• Alan Montgomery
• Rich Harris
• Pippa Griew
• Laura Davis

Thank You