A36 Active transportation: are Canadian children and youth reaching the target?

Background Active transportation is an important source of physical activity for children and youth. Since 2005, the annual Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth has been a major knowledge translation tool that outlines how Canada is doing in terms of providing physical activity opportunities for children and youth. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the grades for the active transportation indicator over the last 10 years and highlight the best available evidence that informed these grades. Methods Based on an annual review of the Canadian active transportation literature, a panel of experts assigned a grade by consensus to represent the proportion of children and youth engaging in active transportation. Key considerations included the quality of evidence and the presence of disparities (e.g., time-trends, geographic, gender, and socioeconomic differences). A letter-based grading scheme was used to rate the proportion of children and youth that engage in regular active transportation: A, 81%–100%; B, 61%–80%; C, 41%–60%; D, 21%–40%;F, 0%–20%; INC, incomplete data. The grading scheme also incorporated a plus-minus system depending on trends over time and the presence of disparities (i.e., race/ethnicity, disabilities, immigration status, socioeconomic status, geography, gender, and age). Results Over the last 10 years, the active transportation grade has steadily remained at “D”. This is primarily attributable to consistent evidence showing that about 25-35% of Canadian children and youth engage in active transportation to/from school. Conversely, the 2013 Report Card highlighted that the percentage of young Canadians using only motorized modes rose from 51 to 62% between 2000 and 2010. Furthermore, children living in higher socioeconomic status families, in Eastern provinces, in rural areas or in smaller cities were consistently less likely to engage in active transportation to/from school. Conclusions Canada has consistently received D grades for the active transportation indicator due to the low prevalence of active transportation to/from school. Moreover, motorized school travel has increased over the last decade, thereby depriving children of an important source of physical activity. Very few data are available regarding trips to/from other destinations, underscoring a need for future research. The Report Card has been a successful knowledge translation tool that has recently been replicated in several countries around the world.