Active commuting to school by Chinese school-age children

Chinese lifestyle has been drastically transformed thanks to the unprecedented economic growth since 1978 when the economic reform started. With rapid motorization and urbanization, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children in China has also increased since the 1980s. At the same time, physical activity level and active travel of Chinese children has been decreasing. As the largest developing country in the world with high prevalence of physical inactivity among children and youth, it is especially urgent to explore and understand not only individual factors, but also social and physical environmental factors associated with child and youth physical activity in China, so that effective interventions could be developed. Within this context, this chapter explores the factors associated with active commuting of school-age children in Shanghai, the largest metropolitan in China, using data from 649 adults with their children attending 32 public elementary schools. The results indicated that parents'/caregivers' physical activity level and duration preference of their children's physical activity per day, family support and encouragement, and school type were associated with active travel to and from school. Similarities and differences between our findings and those reported based on research in other developed countries are highlighted.