The present study examined age differences in cognitive performance and affective experience immediately following a single bout of moderate exercise.

The intervention focused on increasing the time and intensity of Physical Education (PE), on adolescents' cognitive performance and academic achievement. A 4-month group-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 67 adolescents from South-East Spain, in 2007.

Researchers investigated the relationship between aerobic fitness, learning, and memory on a task that involved remembering names and locations on a fictitious map. Different learning strategies and recall procedures were employed to better understand fitness effects on learning novel material.

This study examined the association between physical fitness and academic achievement and determined the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on the association between fitness and academic achievement in school-aged youth.

• Obesity and physical inactivity may have a negative impact on cognitive function and academic achievement. This prospective study investigated whether childhood motor function predicts later academic achievement via physical activity, fitness, and obesity.

Gross and fine motor skills and cognitive performance in obese and overweight children were compared to healthy weight children. Participants were 1,543 children (797 boys and 746 girls) ages 43 to 84 months, attending childcare centers in Munich, Germany.

The purpose of the study was to assess whether living in a smart growth community was associated with increased neighborhood-centered leisure-time physical activity in children aged 8–14 years, compared to residing in a conventional community (i.e., one not designed according to smart growth principles).

Neighborhood designs often relate to physical activity and to body mass index (BMI). The authors wanted to find out if neighborhood walkability/bikeability relates to BMI and obesity risk and whether moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) account for some of the relationship?

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined correlates of bicycle ownership and bicycling frequency, and projected increases in cycling if perceived safety from cars was improved.

In this paper, the links between vehicle emissions and air quality, as well as the health and economic benefits from alternative transport use, are considered, and methodological issues relating to the modelling of these co-benefits are discussed.

Neighborhood design features have been associated with health outcomes, including the prevalence of obesity. This study examined the association between walkability and adolescent weight in a national sample of public secondary school students and the communities in which they live.

This study identifies the association of parents’ perceptions of the neighborhood, geospatial variables, and demographic characteristics with ATS among students in four low-income, densely populated urban communities with predominantly minority populations.

This research review considered how policy and built environment could impact energy expenditure in youth.

This study was designed to examine whether residents living in neighborhoods that are less conducive to walking or other physical activities are more likely to develop diabetes and, if so, whether recent immigrants are particularly susceptible to such effects.

This special review article touches on a number of key built environment issues leveraged by the Safe Routes to School program to improve childhood health and prevent obesity. 

Children’s safety as they travel to school is a concern nationwide. The authors investigated how safe children felt from the risk of being assaulted during morning travel to school.

In 2005, the US Congress allocated $612 million for a national Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program to encourage walking and bicycling to schools. The authors analyzed motor vehicle crash data to assess the effectiveness of SRTS interventions in reducing school-aged pedestrian injury in New York City.

The 2012 Minnesota Legislature created a new immunity that will help limit school district liability for recreational activities on school properties. 

Student transportation departments spend their days working to get students safely to and from school, but historically have focused on busing and driving. Safe Routes to School can easily support district transportation departments in identifying ways to safely get children active while commuting to school, while decreasing traffic congestion.

These action briefs are a companion to the webinar "Maximizing District-Wide Impact of Safe Routes to School: Educating School District Transportation Departments" that took place on April 18, 2013.