Differences in Commuting to School and Work across Europe

In a study just published online in Preventive Medicine -with Dr. Saskia te Velde as first author- we explored if how school children and their parents commute to and from school and work across Europe, and if these modes of commuting are related to demographic variables, such as country of residence, sex, parental education, and ethnicity, and to weight status.
This study was part of the ENERGY project; children's weight and height were objectively measured; parents self-reported their weight and height and self-reports of mode of commuting and demographics were obtained.
There were marked differences between countries, especially regarding cycling to school, which was common in The Netherlands and Norway and rare in Greece and Spain. Mode of commuting was not associated with weight status in children, but parents who rode their bike to work were significantly less likely to be overweight or obese. Demographic variables were associated with mode of commuting in children and parents. For example: boys were more likely to cycle to school at least four days per week; girls were more likely to walk; children from lower educated parents were less likely to cycle, and children from ethnic minority groups were more likely to walk.