Research: Health and Physical Activity

Physical activity rates among children have declined over the past two decades, which is a concerning trend carrying multiple implications. Regular physical activity is crucial for youth development and leads to improved bone health, weight status, cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, cognition, and reduced risk of anxiety and depression (U.S. DHHS, 2018). Yet, less than one-quarter (24 percent) of children 6-17 years of age do not engage in at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity as recommended in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (U.S. DHHS, 2018; U.S. Report Card Research Advisory Committee, 2022). Youth of color, youth with disabilities, girls, and adolescent-age youth are even less likely to attain recommended physical activity levels. (U.S. Report Card Research Advisory Committee, 2022). In particular, physical activity rates remain higher for boys than girls, and higher for White students than for African-American and Hispanic students (U.S. DHHS, 2020).

Activity levels for many children have declined, due in part to a built environment that is unsafe for walking and bicycling, reduced physical education in school, and increased popularity of sedentary leisure-time activities. Safe Routes to School can create environmental, policy, and behavioral changes that increase physical activity and promote the health of both children and adults.  Articles summarized in this section address the overall health benefits of physical activity, specifically walking to and from school, as well as the impact that increased physical activity opportunities have on health trends in the U.S.  There is also a growing body of research included here to support the improved social and emotional health implications Safe Routes to School and active transportation on youth development.

Research Highlights:

  • Children who walk to school get three times as much moderate to vigorous physical activity during their walk to school than during recess (Cooper et al., 2010). Children walk more when they live on more walkable routes with more open green space and less exposure to road traffic (Gallimore et al., 2011; Rahman, et al., 2011; Lamber et al., 2009).
  • Implementation of Safe Routes to School initiatives like Walking School Buses have demonstrated improved rates of walking to school, increased daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and support healthy weight (Quarles, 2012; Mendoza et al., 2011; Mori et al., 2012; Kong et al., 2010).
  • Research demonstrates that children who walk or bicycle to school have higher daily levels of physical activity and better cardiovascular fitness than do children who do not actively commute to school (Mendoza et al., 2011; Davison, et al., 2008; Østergaard et al., 2012).
  • One study suggests that a 5% increase in neighborhood walkability is associated with 32.1% more minutes devoted to physically active travel and about one-quarter point lower body mass index (0.228) (Frank, et al., 2006).
  • Living in a walkable community has been associated with increased prevalence of healthy weight in adolescents (Slater et al., 2013).
  • Perceptions of safety and attractiveness impact a neighborhood’s walkability (Project for Public Space, 2016Ussery et al., 2017).  
  • There are gender, racial, and class disparities in how much people walk. Compared to affluent and primarily White neighborhoods, low-income neighborhoods and communities of color are perceived as less attractive and safe because of crime (Ussery et al., 2017).   
  • Investing in bike lanes is an investment in public health. People bike more when the built environment supports bicycling by including bike lanes, bike racks, and traffic calming (Dill et al., 2013Hipp et al., 2013Winters et al., 2016).
  • In addition to more bike infrastructure and road engineering improvements to make bicycling safer, bicycle education is important (Pion et al., 2016).
  • US metro areas with greater multi-modal transportation options (i.e., walking, bicycling, public transit) have better public health outcomes. People make healthier lifestyle choices, have more quality leisure time, exercise more, and live longer (Meehan et al., 2017; Frederick et al., 2017).
  • Students can build stronger friendships and relationships through walking and biking together. Based on a CDC evaluation of 145 informants from 184 walking school bus programs from 2017 to 2018, every additional walking school bus trip per week was related to a 21 percent increase in the odds of experiencing less bullying (Carlson et al., 2020).
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Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Children: The Importance of Physical Activity

Considerable evidence has accrued that cardiovascular disease (CVD) has its beginnings during childhood, with some reports of endothelial damage occurring in early adolescence. Thus, early prevention and intervention on developing cardiometabolic risk factors is important.

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Shape Up Somerville Two-Year Results
A Community-Based Environmental Change Intervention Sustains Weight Reduction in Children

Objective: The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that community-based environmental change intervention prevents undesirable weight gain in children.

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Obesity, Diet, and Activity in Relation to Asthma and Wheeze Among Rural Dwelling Children and Adolescents
  • Objectives: We investigated associations between weight status, activity level, and diet with asthma or wheeze as well as the interrelationship between these factors.
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Physical Fitness, Academic Achievement, and Socioeconomic Status in School-Aged Youth

This study examined the association between physical fitness and academic achievement and determined the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on the association between fitness and academic achievement in school-aged youth.

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School

This downloadable report from the Institute of Medicine is a compilation of information around increasing physical activity in K-12 schools.

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A Physical Education Trial Improves Adolescents' Cognitive Performance and Academic Achievement: The Edufit Study

The intervention focused on increasing the time and intensity of Physical Education (PE), on adolescents' cognitive performance and academic achievement. A 4-month group-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 67 adolescents from South-East Spain, in 2007.

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Associations Between Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Academic Attainment in Adolescents from a UK Cohort

The goal of the study was to test students for cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between objectively measured free-living physical activity (PA) and academic attainment in adolescents.

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Exercise Holds Immediate Benefits for Affect and Cognition in Younger and Older Adults

The present study examined age differences in cognitive performance and affective experience immediately following a single bout of moderate exercise.

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Fitness Change and Subsequent Academic Performance in Adolescents

This study examined the association between fitness change and subsequent academic performance in Taiwanese schoolchildren from 7th grade to 9th grade.

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Influence of Childhood Aerobic Fitness on Learning and Memory

Researchers investigated the relationship between aerobic fitness, learning, and memory on a task that involved remembering names and locations on a fictitious map. Different learning strategies and recall procedures were employed to better understand fitness effects on learning novel material.