Characteristics associated with US Walk to School programs

Describe the characteristics of schools' WTS programs by level of implementation.Representatives from 450 schools from 42 states completed a survey about their WTS program's infrastructure and activities, and perceived impact on walking to school. Level of implementation was determined from a single question to which respondents reported participation in WTS Day only (low), WTS Day and additional programs (medium), or making policy/environmental change (high).The final model showed number of community groups involved was positively associated with higher level of implementation (OR = 1.78, 95%CI = 1.44, 2.18), as was funding (OR = 1.56, 95%CI = 1.26, 1.92), years of participation (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.23, 1.70), and use of a walkability assessment (OR = 3.22, 95%CI = 1.84, 5.64). Implementation level was modestly associated with increased walking (r = 0.18).Strong community involvement, some funding, repeat participation, and environmental audits are associated with progms that adopt environmental/policy change, and seem to facilitate walking to school.A recent literature review confirmed that physical activity (PA) is associated with important health benefits for children and adolescents, and recommended 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous PA daily [1]. This report adds to the growing body of literature recognizing the protective effects of PA against many chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and osteoporosis for not only adults but children [2,3]. Additionally, the prevalence of overweight among children has more than doubled over the past 20 years [4] and declines in PA have been suggested as a cause of an energy imbalance driving the obesity epidemic [5].Although researchers have not observed a significant decrease in leisure time PA [6,7], one component of PA that has measurably declined among American youth over the past 20 years is walking and bicycling to and from school. Between 1977 and 1995, active transpor