These findings suggest that AST should be promoted to increase PA levels in children and adolescents and that cycling to/ from school is associated with increased cardiovascular fitness .
BACKGROUND The impact of  active school transport ( AST )  on daily physical activity ( PA ) levels , body composition and cardiovascular fitness remains unclear .
Bone mineral accrual and gain in skeletal width in pre-pubertal school children is independent of the mode of school transportation – one-year data from the prospective observational pediatric osteoporosis prevention (POP) study
Background Walking and cycling to school could be an important regular source of physical activity in growing children . The aim of this 12 months prospect i ve observational study was thus to evaluate the effect of self-transportation to school on bone mineral accrual and gain in bone width in pre-pubertal children , both traits independently contributing to bone strength . Methods Ninety-seven girls and 133 boys aged 7–9 years were recruited as a part of the Malmö Pediatric Osteoporosis Prevention ( POP ) Study in order to evaluate the influence of self-selected school transportation for the accrual of bone mineral and bone width .  Children who walked or cycled to school were compared with  children who went by bus or car . Bone mineral content ( BMC ) was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry ( DXA ) in the lumbar spine ( L2–L4 ) , third lumbar vertebra ( L3 ) and hip , and bone width was calculated at L3 and femoral neck ( FN ) . Changes during the first 12 months were compared between the groups . Subjective duration of physical activity was estimated by a question naire and objective level of everyday physical activity at follow-up by accelerometers worn for four consecutive days . All children remained in Tanner stage 1 throughout the study . Comparisons were made by independent student 's t-tests between means , ANCOVA and Fisher 's exact tests . Results There were no differences in baseline or annual changes in BMC or bone width when the transportation groups were compared . No differences were detected in objective ly measured daily level of physical activity by accelerometer . All children reached above 60 minutes of moderate to intense daily physical activity per day , the international recommended level of daily physical activity according to the United Kingdom Expert Consensus Group . Conclusion The everyday physical activity in these pre-pubertal children seems to be so high that the school transportation contributes little to their total level of physical activity . As a result , the choice of school transportation seems not to influence the accrual of bone mineral or gain in bone size during a 12-month follow-up period
These findings suggest that AST should be promoted to increase PA levels in children and adolescents and that cycling to/ from school is associated with increased cardiovascular fitness .
BACKGROUND The impact of  active school transport ( AST )  on daily physical activity ( PA ) levels , body composition and cardiovascular fitness remains unclear .