School commuting as physical activity – an analysis of distance to school

Median reiselengde til skolen øker med 3,5 km ved overgangen fra barne- til ungdomsskole. Dette viser et stort potensiale for økt fysisk aktivitet – et paradoks i en alder hvor aktiviteten reduseres.

Background: Physical activity levels decrease as children transit into adolescence. While 64% of Norwegian girls and 81% of Norwegian boys meet the recommendation at age 9, the respective figures are only 40% and 51% at age 15. Transition periods (e.g. between primary and secondary school) are especially important for realizing the potential of active commuting on physical activity, due to changes in distance from home to school. However, no study has thoroughly discussed this issue. The purpose of the present study is to calculate the change in distance to school during this transition period, and to discuss this change as a potential for changes in physical activity.
Methods: Data used in this study is aggregated register data from all Norwegian 5th (primary school) and 10th (secondary school) graders in 2010, 2015 and 2020, in total 360 000 home to school distances. Statistics Norway estimated shortest driving distance from home to school, based on exact home and school addresses. To calculate minutes in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) the following speeds and intensities were used: walking (5 km/h, 4 metabolic equivalents (MET)), cycling (20 km/h, 6 MET) and e-cycling (25 km/h, 5 MET). Calculations of change in potential physical activity from different modes of commuting for the transition from elementary to secondary school were conducted.
Results: Median distance from home to school increased from 1.5 km in elementary school to 5 km in lower secondary school. This change in median distance corresponds to an increase in transport MVPA of 420 min/week if continue walking, and 100 min if continue cycling.
Conclusions: Continue active commuting to school can potentially reduce the decrease in physical activity levels observed during this transition period.