Contribution of walking to and from school on overall physical activity: a one-year follow up study.

This study is the first in Japan to prospectively examine the relationship between walking to and from school and physical activity in primary school children. A total of 76 participants completed baseline and follow-up assessments, and their mean age was 9.6 ±  1.0 years at baseline and 10.6 ±  1.0...

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Main Author: Kensaku Sasayama
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318355
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author Kensaku Sasayama
author_facet Kensaku Sasayama
author_sort Kensaku Sasayama
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description This study is the first in Japan to prospectively examine the relationship between walking to and from school and physical activity in primary school children. A total of 76 participants completed baseline and follow-up assessments, and their mean age was 9.6 ±  1.0 years at baseline and 10.6 ±  1.0 years at follow-up. The participants' mode of school commute was measured by a questionnaire. Step counts, sedentary time, light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was assessed using an accelerometer. Comparisons of physical activity variables at baseline and follow-up and tracking of physical activity were analyzed. Overall physical activity levels decreased at follow-up compared to baseline. However, the contribution of commuting school activities to overall physical activity significantly increased at follow-up compared to baseline, especially in step counts and MVPA. Walking to and from school contributed to the participants' overall physical activity in MVPA were 39.6 ±  15.3% and 49.1 ±  13.8% for all participants at baseline and follow-up, respectively. Tracking correlation coefficients were high for the steps counts (r =  0.80-0.89) and MVPA (r =  0.71-0.75) in commuting school. In conclusions, walking to and from school significantly contributed to overall physical activity in primary school students. Physical activity during the school commute in short-term exhibited a low-to-strong association. These findings emphasize the importance of promoting physical activity interventions and implementing school policies that encourage walking to and from school. Future research will need to examine other populations and countries over a long-term period.
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spelling doaj-art-b83676e1fc7b4e9b86beae87f2e15deb2025-08-20T03:47:27ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01203e031835510.1371/journal.pone.0318355Contribution of walking to and from school on overall physical activity: a one-year follow up study.Kensaku SasayamaThis study is the first in Japan to prospectively examine the relationship between walking to and from school and physical activity in primary school children. A total of 76 participants completed baseline and follow-up assessments, and their mean age was 9.6 ±  1.0 years at baseline and 10.6 ±  1.0 years at follow-up. The participants' mode of school commute was measured by a questionnaire. Step counts, sedentary time, light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was assessed using an accelerometer. Comparisons of physical activity variables at baseline and follow-up and tracking of physical activity were analyzed. Overall physical activity levels decreased at follow-up compared to baseline. However, the contribution of commuting school activities to overall physical activity significantly increased at follow-up compared to baseline, especially in step counts and MVPA. Walking to and from school contributed to the participants' overall physical activity in MVPA were 39.6 ±  15.3% and 49.1 ±  13.8% for all participants at baseline and follow-up, respectively. Tracking correlation coefficients were high for the steps counts (r =  0.80-0.89) and MVPA (r =  0.71-0.75) in commuting school. In conclusions, walking to and from school significantly contributed to overall physical activity in primary school students. Physical activity during the school commute in short-term exhibited a low-to-strong association. These findings emphasize the importance of promoting physical activity interventions and implementing school policies that encourage walking to and from school. Future research will need to examine other populations and countries over a long-term period.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318355
spellingShingle Kensaku Sasayama
Contribution of walking to and from school on overall physical activity: a one-year follow up study.
PLoS ONE
title Contribution of walking to and from school on overall physical activity: a one-year follow up study.
title_full Contribution of walking to and from school on overall physical activity: a one-year follow up study.
title_fullStr Contribution of walking to and from school on overall physical activity: a one-year follow up study.
title_full_unstemmed Contribution of walking to and from school on overall physical activity: a one-year follow up study.
title_short Contribution of walking to and from school on overall physical activity: a one-year follow up study.
title_sort contribution of walking to and from school on overall physical activity a one year follow up study
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318355
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