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Translation of children's cycling into steps : The share of cycling in 10-year-olds ' physical activity

Raustorp, Anders ; Boldemann, Cecilia ; Martensson, Fredrika ; Sternudd, Catarina LU and Johansson, Maria LU orcid (2013) In International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health 25(2). p.171-176
Abstract

Background: Active travel has a potential to increase children ' s physical activity (PA). Pedometers offer a valid option to measure PA, but do not capture cycling activity. Children ' s self-reported cycling distances can be analyzed by the Geografic Information System (GIS). Aim: To combine pedometry and GIS mapping to identify the relative amount of cycling in children ' s PA. Study group: Of all children in 4th grade (n = 187) in Staffanstorp Sweden, 144 had valid pedometer data. Fifty-six children were non-cyclists while 88 children (32 boys, 47 girls, 9 gender unknown) reported at least one cycle journey. Methods: Cycle trips were entered into GIS and calculated to total cycling distance. Average length of the single distances... (More)

Background: Active travel has a potential to increase children ' s physical activity (PA). Pedometers offer a valid option to measure PA, but do not capture cycling activity. Children ' s self-reported cycling distances can be analyzed by the Geografic Information System (GIS). Aim: To combine pedometry and GIS mapping to identify the relative amount of cycling in children ' s PA. Study group: Of all children in 4th grade (n = 187) in Staffanstorp Sweden, 144 had valid pedometer data. Fifty-six children were non-cyclists while 88 children (32 boys, 47 girls, 9 gender unknown) reported at least one cycle journey. Methods: Cycle trips were entered into GIS and calculated to total cycling distance. Average length of the single distances cycled per day was 676 m (SD = 534 m). A previously reported cycling speed (13.5 km/h) was used to calculate time spent cycling. Consequently distance = 676 m, speed = 13.5 km/h = 13,500 m/3600 s = 3.75 m/s and time = 676m/3.75m/s = 180.26 s = 3 min. Expenditure of 4 and 5 metabolic equivalents (METs) has in children been reported equivalent to 122 and 127 steps/min, respectively. We estimated 4.7 METs (13.5 km/h) as 126 steps for every min of cycling (127 - 122 = 5 ×?0.7 = 125.5). Results: The daily mean cycle distance was 676 m, on average 379 additional steps/day for cycling children (min. 21, max. 1385, SD = 299) with no gender difference. Additional " steps " obtained by cycling corresponded to on average 3 % of their PA. Conclusion: The relative contribution of cycling in 10-yearold children ' s PA level is quite small and stable between children across different levels of activity levels, regardless of gender.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Bicycling, GIS mapping, Pedometry, Physical activity
in
International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health
volume
25
issue
2
pages
6 pages
publisher
De Gruyter
external identifiers
  • pmid:23324377
  • scopus:84881482738
ISSN
0334-0139
DOI
10.1515/ijamh-2013-0026
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Funding Information: Acknowledgment: The research was funded by a research grant from the Swedish research council FORMAS. The authors would like to thank PhD Maria Kylin, Isabelle Ripa and Anna Brå hult and all the participating children.
id
0f1154a3-e919-4e22-81a9-f546874d4a42
date added to LUP
2022-12-11 16:58:32
date last changed
2024-01-03 19:37:55
@article{0f1154a3-e919-4e22-81a9-f546874d4a42,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Active travel has a potential to increase children ' s physical activity (PA). Pedometers offer a valid option to measure PA, but do not capture cycling activity. Children ' s self-reported cycling distances can be analyzed by the Geografic Information System (GIS). Aim: To combine pedometry and GIS mapping to identify the relative amount of cycling in children ' s PA. Study group: Of all children in 4th grade (n = 187) in Staffanstorp Sweden, 144 had valid pedometer data. Fifty-six children were non-cyclists while 88 children (32 boys, 47 girls, 9 gender unknown) reported at least one cycle journey. Methods: Cycle trips were entered into GIS and calculated to total cycling distance. Average length of the single distances cycled per day was 676 m (SD = 534 m). A previously reported cycling speed (13.5 km/h) was used to calculate time spent cycling. Consequently distance = 676 m, speed = 13.5 km/h = 13,500 m/3600 s = 3.75 m/s and time = 676m/3.75m/s = 180.26 s = 3 min. Expenditure of 4 and 5 metabolic equivalents (METs) has in children been reported equivalent to 122 and 127 steps/min, respectively. We estimated 4.7 METs (13.5 km/h) as 126 steps for every min of cycling (127 - 122 = 5 ×?0.7 = 125.5). Results: The daily mean cycle distance was 676 m, on average 379 additional steps/day for cycling children (min. 21, max. 1385, SD = 299) with no gender difference. Additional " steps " obtained by cycling corresponded to on average 3 % of their PA. Conclusion: The relative contribution of cycling in 10-yearold children ' s PA level is quite small and stable between children across different levels of activity levels, regardless of gender.</p>}},
  author       = {{Raustorp, Anders and Boldemann, Cecilia and Martensson, Fredrika and Sternudd, Catarina and Johansson, Maria}},
  issn         = {{0334-0139}},
  keywords     = {{Bicycling; GIS mapping; Pedometry; Physical activity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{171--176}},
  publisher    = {{De Gruyter}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health}},
  title        = {{Translation of children's cycling into steps : The share of cycling in 10-year-olds ' physical activity}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2013-0026}},
  doi          = {{10.1515/ijamh-2013-0026}},
  volume       = {{25}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}