Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Non-communicable diseases such as heart attack, stroke and cancer are the leading causes of death worldwide. Although low physical activity is a well-known cause of these diseases, the majority of today's children and youth are insufficiently active. Moreover, the percentage of children and youth who engage in active transportation (e.g. non-motorized methods of transportation such as walking and cycling) has decreased, even in developing countries. To design effective interventions aiming to reverse this trend, we need a better understanding of the factors that deter or encourage active transportation and physical activity. My research will examine such factors at multiple levels. These include characteristics of the child (age and gender) and the parents (income, education level and car ownership), policies encouraging or discouraging active transportation, and aspects of the neighbourhood (i.e. distance between home and school, sidewalks and bike paths). A total of 4,000 children aged 10 to 12 years will be recruited in 4 countries: Canada, Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria. They will be recruited in urban, suburban and rural areas to provide a wide variety of neighbourhoods. Children will be asked to wear a step counter (pedometer) for one week and to report how they travel to/from various destinations during that week. Children and one of their parents will complete a questionnaire on factors that may deter or encourage active transportation in their neighbourhood. Parents will also complete a questionnaire on characteristics of their household (income, education level and car ownership). Policies related to children's active transportation will be collated from governmental and non-government sources, and compared between countries. This research should improve our understanding of the factors associated with children's active transportation and physical activity. It should also identify good practices that one country could learn from one another.