OTREC-RR-09-06

Since the mid 1980s, the prevalence of obesity among children in the United States increased dramatically. Researchers have recently started examining the degree to which community-level factors influence children’s physical activity, and in particular, active transportation to and from school. “Walkability” factors such as the density of intersections, lack of dead ends, and tree cover near schools have been found to be positive predictors of children walking to school. The study examined two key research questions. First, we examinee the contributions of walkability measures and perceived neighborhood safety on active transportation among an ethnically diverse group of low income children. Second, we investigatee the relationship between children’s active transportation and overall physical activity and obesity. The data set used for this research is a cross sectional survey of 765 parents and guardians of children in Florida aged 5-18 who receive Medicaid, the health coverage program for the low income.