Policy changes are needed to reshape the built environment for active transportation.

An extensive body of research exists on environmental influences on weight-related behaviors in young people. Existing reviews aimed to synthesize this body of work, but generally focused on specific samples, behaviors or environmental influences and integration of findings is lacking.

The purpose of this study is to estimate the risks and benefits to health of travel by bicycle, using a bicycle sharing scheme, compared with travel by car in an urban environment.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to identify the common existing international policies established to increase physical activity in children and adolescents; and (2) to examine the extent to which these policies are supported by solid scientific evidence.

Through a multidisciplinary literature review, the authors investigated the association between various built environment attributes and childhood obesity.

This paper assesses the role of existing school physical activity programs for a national cohort from first grade to fifth grade.

Active travel to school (ATS) has been identified as an important source of physical activity for youth. However, the relationship between ATS and health-related fitness (HRF) among youth remains unclear.

Walking or bicycling to school (ie, active commuting) has shown promise for improving physical activity and preventing obesity in youth. The objectives of this paper are to examine, among US youth, whether active commuting was inversely associated with adiposity and positively associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). 

African American (AA) and low SES populations report poor health behaviors and outcomes. This study aimed to increase understanding of barriers to participating in healthful behaviors and programs in AA residents of public housing.

The objective of the present study was to assess the longitudinal association between cycling to school and weight status in two cities where cycling to school is common – Kristiansand (Norway) and Rotterdam (The Netherlands).

The impact of neighborhood walkability (based on street connectivity and traffic exposure) within 2 km of public primary schools on children regularly walking to school was examined. 

This study employed a quasi-experimental design of five Oklahoma schools with a Walking School Bus during school year 2009-2010. The study measured pre- and post-BMI in 1102 active commuters and controls ages five to twelve. A parent questionnaire evaluated dose response, confounders, and contributors or barriers to a child’s active commute.

Increasing active transportation to and from school may reduce childhood obesity rates in Hawaii. A community partnership was formed to address this issue in Hawaii’s Opportunity for Active Living Advancement (HO‘ÄLA), a quasi-experimental study of active transportation in Hawaii County.

• This paper reports results of a 2009 survey of California school governance leaders on the barriers and opportunities to providing school-based physical activity and strategies to promote adoption of evidence-based policies.

This study assessed the impact of active school transportation (AST) on average daily step counts, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference in 315 children in Grades 4-6 who participated to Cycle 2 of the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) pilot testing.

The purpose of this study was to identify correlates of pedometer-based cut-points among elementary school-aged children.

This study used real-time electronic surveys delivered through mobile phones, known as Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), to determine whether level and experience of leisure-time physical activity differ across children’s physical and social contexts.

Data are available on correlates of physical activity in children and adolescents, less is known about the determinants of change. This review aims to systematically review the published evidence regarding determinants of change in physical activity in children and adolescents.

This study evaluates the impact of a walking school bus program on children’s rates of active commuting to school and physical activity.

Obesity has become a global public health problem, which also affects children. It has been proposed that the educational interventions during childhood could be a key strategy in the prevention of obesity.