TY - JOUR
T1 - Socio-demographic patterns of public, private and active travel in Latin America: cross-sectional findings from the ELANS study
AU - Ferrari, Gerson Luis de Moraes
AU - Kovalskys, Irina
AU - Fisberg, Mauro
AU - Gómez , Georgina
AU - Rigotti, Attilio
AU - Cortés Sanabria, Lilia Yadira
AU - Yépez García, Martha Cecilia
AU - Pareja Torres, Rossina Gabriella
AU - Herrera-Cuenca, Marianella
AU - Zimberg, Ioná Zalcman
AU - Guajardo, Viviana
AU - Pratt, Michael
AU - Gonçalves, Priscila Bezerra
AU - Rosales-Salas, Jorge
AU - Cristi-Montero, Carlos
AU - Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Fernando
AU - Waddell, Heather
AU - Petermann-Rocha, Fanny
AU - Celis-Morales, Carlos A.
AU - Chaput, Jean Philippe
AU - Scholes, Shaun
AU - Solé, Dirceu
AU - ELANS Study Group
N1 - Funding Information:
The ELANS was supported by a scientific grant from the Coca Cola Company , and support from the Ferrero, Instituto Pensi/Hospital Infantil Sabara , International Life Science Institute of Argentina , Universidad de Costa Rica , Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile , Pontificia Universidad Javeriana , Universidad Central de Venezuela (CENDES-UCV) / Fundación Bengoa , Universidad San Francisco de Quito , and Instituto de Investigación Nutricional de Peru . The funding sponsors had no role in study design, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results. This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (No. NCT02226627 ).
Funding Information:
Strong evidence supports that physical activity (PA) has substantial health benefits such as reducing premature mortality, cardiovascular disease incidence and some types of cancer (Piercy and Troiano, 2018; Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2018). These benefits can be obtained by performing structured PA (during leisure-time); but they can also be obtained through using walking or cycling as forms of transportation (hereafter ‘active travel’) (Celis-Morales et al., 2017; Step It Up, 2015). In fact, walking or cycling may also be a good way for people who are inactive to become active (Andersen, 2016).The ELANS was supported by a scientific grant from the Coca Cola Company, and support from the Ferrero, Instituto Pensi/Hospital Infantil Sabara, International Life Science Institute of Argentina, Universidad de Costa Rica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Universidad Central de Venezuela (CENDES-UCV)/ Fundación Bengoa, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, and Instituto de Investigación Nutricional de Peru. The funding sponsors had no role in study design, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results. This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (No. NCT02226627).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Authors
PY - 2020/3
Y1 - 2020/3
N2 - Background: Active travel such as walking or cycling has been associated with more favorable health outcomes. However, evidence on patterns of transportation in Latin America is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to quantify and characterise socio-demographic patterns of public, private and active travel in Latin American countries. Methods: Data from the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health, a population-based, cross-sectional survey conducted in eight Latin American countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela (n = 9218; age range: 15–65 years). Transportation modes include public (bus, taxi, subway and train), private (car and motorcycle) and active (walking and/or cycling). Outcomes for this study include time spent in different modes of transportation. We performed overall and country-specific descriptive analyses to examine differences by sex, age, socioeconomic and education level. Results: For the overall cohort, public transport represent 34.9% of the total travel time, whereas private, walking and cycling represent 48.2%, 10.6% and 6.3% of the total travel time. Time spent using public travel was highest in Venezuela (48.4%); Peru had the highest proportions of private travel (52.5%); Time spent walking and cycling was highest in Costa Rica (14.8% and 12.2%, respectively). The average travel time spent in public and private transport were 299.5 min/week (95% CI: 292.4307.0) and 379.6 min/week (95% CI: 368.0, 391.5) respectively; figures for walking and cycling were 186.9 min/week (95% CI: 181.8, 191.9) and 201.1 min/week (95% CI: 187.8, 216.9). Conclusions: Public and private transport were the most common forms of travel in Latin America. Active travel (walking or cycling) represent 17% of total physical activity, therefore, promoting and providing the right infrastructure for active commuting could translate in increasing the population overall levels of physical activity in Latin America.
AB - Background: Active travel such as walking or cycling has been associated with more favorable health outcomes. However, evidence on patterns of transportation in Latin America is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to quantify and characterise socio-demographic patterns of public, private and active travel in Latin American countries. Methods: Data from the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health, a population-based, cross-sectional survey conducted in eight Latin American countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela (n = 9218; age range: 15–65 years). Transportation modes include public (bus, taxi, subway and train), private (car and motorcycle) and active (walking and/or cycling). Outcomes for this study include time spent in different modes of transportation. We performed overall and country-specific descriptive analyses to examine differences by sex, age, socioeconomic and education level. Results: For the overall cohort, public transport represent 34.9% of the total travel time, whereas private, walking and cycling represent 48.2%, 10.6% and 6.3% of the total travel time. Time spent using public travel was highest in Venezuela (48.4%); Peru had the highest proportions of private travel (52.5%); Time spent walking and cycling was highest in Costa Rica (14.8% and 12.2%, respectively). The average travel time spent in public and private transport were 299.5 min/week (95% CI: 292.4307.0) and 379.6 min/week (95% CI: 368.0, 391.5) respectively; figures for walking and cycling were 186.9 min/week (95% CI: 181.8, 191.9) and 201.1 min/week (95% CI: 187.8, 216.9). Conclusions: Public and private transport were the most common forms of travel in Latin America. Active travel (walking or cycling) represent 17% of total physical activity, therefore, promoting and providing the right infrastructure for active commuting could translate in increasing the population overall levels of physical activity in Latin America.
KW - Active travel
KW - Latin America
KW - Physical activity
KW - Transport
U2 - 10.1016/j.jth.2019.100788
DO - 10.1016/j.jth.2019.100788
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075428798
SN - 2214-1405
VL - 16
JO - Journal of Transport and Health
JF - Journal of Transport and Health
M1 - 100788
ER -