Background: Despite the well-documented health benefits of walking and biking, most children in the U.S. do not walk or bike to school. Understanding barriers to these activities is important for public health intervention. Until now there was no nationwide data addressing this question.
Methods: HealthStyles is an annual mail survey which provides information on health-related attitudes and behaviors. In 1999, it surveyed a nationally representative sample of 3554 adults (response rate 74%). Among respondents, 749 had at least one child aged 5 to 18 years. These adults were asked if their youngest child walked or biked to school and whether any of six specified conditions made it difficult to do so.
Results: Respondents reported 19.8% of children walked and 6.3% biked to school at least once a week. This represented 14.1% of all trips to and from school (10.6% walking, 3.5% biking). When questioned about factors that made walking or biking difficult, parents reported distance (55.3%), traffic (40.5%), weather (24.0%), crime (18.0%), school policy (7.5%) and "other reasons" (26.5%). Of respondents reporting it was not difficult for their child to walk or bike to school (16.1%), more than three times as many children walked (63.9%) or biked (20.6%).
Conclusions: For the first time a national survey has described the diverse barriers that prevent most children from walking and biking to school. When these barriers were not present more than three-fourths of the children walked or biked. Programs to encourage walking and biking to school will need to address these concerns.
Learning Objectives: 1. Descibe the demographics of U.S. childen who walk and bike to school versus those who do not. 2. Identify the major barriors which prevent children in the U.S. from walking and biking to school. 3. Analyze the contribution of and possible solutions to each of these barriers.
Keywords: Physical Activity, Injury Risk
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None.
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.