Active or passive commuter? Discrepancies in cut-off criteria among adolescents

Zaragoza, Javier (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Corral, Ana (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Estrada, Sergio (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Abós, Ángel (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Aibar, Alberto (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: Active commuting to school has health implications for young people. Previous research has shown the need to consistently define the concept of “active commuter”, given that assessment as well as comparison between studies may be hindered by current discrepancies in frequency criteria. Using a sample of 158 Spanish students (12th–13th grade, 60.8% girls), the current study aimed to compare several cut-off criteria to rigorously identify the frequency of weekly active trips to school in order to categorize adolescents as active or passive commuters, and to analyze whether the threshold living distance to school is associated with the different trip cut-off criteria. Percentages of active commuters ranged from 75% to 88.6%, varying significantly depending on the cut-off criteria (5–10 active trips/week) used. The results also support the need to be stricter in the selection of a cut-off criterion when the distance to the school becomes shorter. Our findings highlight the importance of following a standard criterion to classify individuals as active or passive commuters, considering the characteristics of the context in which each study is conducted.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16203796

Año: 2019

Publicado en: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, 20 (2019), 3796 [12 pp.]
ISSN: 1661-7827

Factor impacto JCR: 2.849 (2019)

Categ. JCR: PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH rank: 32 / 170 = 0.188 (2019) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES rank: 105 / 265 = 0.396 (2019) - Q2 - T2
Categ. JCR: PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH rank: 58 / 193 = 0.301 (2019) - Q2 - T1

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.739 - Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis (Q2) - Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health (Q2) - Pollution (Q2)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EUR/INTERREG-V-POCTEFA-2014-2020

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Didáctica Expres.Corporal (Dpto. Expres.Music.Plást.Corp.)