Abstract
Objective
To investigate the effect of a school-based intervention called Travelling Green (TG) on children's walking to and from school and total daily physical activity.
Method
A quasi-experiment with 166 Scottish children (8–9 years) was conducted in 2009. One group (n = 79) received TG and another group (n = 87) acted as a comparison. The intervention lasted 6 weeks and consisted of educational lessons and goal-setting tasks. Steps and MVPA (daily, a.m. commute, p.m. commute, and total commute) were measured for 5 days pre- and post-intervention using accelerometers.
Results
Mean steps (daily, a.m., p.m., and total commute) decreased from pre- to post-intervention in both groups (TG by 901, 49, 222, and 271 steps/day and comparison by 2528, 205, 120, and 325 steps/day, respectively). No significant group by time interactions were found for a.m., p.m., and total commuting steps. A medium (partial eta squared = 0.09) and significant (p < 0.05) group by time interaction was found for total daily steps. MVPA results were similar to step results.
Conclusions
TG has a little effect on walking to and from school. However, for total daily steps and daily MVPA, TG results in a smaller seasonal decrease than for children who do not receive the intervention.
To investigate the effect of a school-based intervention called Travelling Green (TG) on children's walking to and from school and total daily physical activity.
Method
A quasi-experiment with 166 Scottish children (8–9 years) was conducted in 2009. One group (n = 79) received TG and another group (n = 87) acted as a comparison. The intervention lasted 6 weeks and consisted of educational lessons and goal-setting tasks. Steps and MVPA (daily, a.m. commute, p.m. commute, and total commute) were measured for 5 days pre- and post-intervention using accelerometers.
Results
Mean steps (daily, a.m., p.m., and total commute) decreased from pre- to post-intervention in both groups (TG by 901, 49, 222, and 271 steps/day and comparison by 2528, 205, 120, and 325 steps/day, respectively). No significant group by time interactions were found for a.m., p.m., and total commuting steps. A medium (partial eta squared = 0.09) and significant (p < 0.05) group by time interaction was found for total daily steps. MVPA results were similar to step results.
Conclusions
TG has a little effect on walking to and from school. However, for total daily steps and daily MVPA, TG results in a smaller seasonal decrease than for children who do not receive the intervention.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 316-318 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Preventive Medicine |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 3 Mar 2012 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2012 |
Keywords
- walking
- accelerometer
- active travel
- intervention
