Active home-school displacement: perception of parents and children

In order to combat the sedentary lifestyle originated by the technological age in which we live, it is necessary to find strategies of promotion of physical activity in children and adolescents. Active displacement shift to school is a source of continued moderate physical activity, which young people have ignored. The aim of this study was to describe the form of displacement in the home-school route, comparing according to the variables of sex, age and distance, as well as the agreement between the perception of parents and children. A total of 352 children with an average age of 10,83 (DP +/- .71) and their parents with a range of ages between 35 years and 50 years, from two public primary schools in Braga (Portugal) participated. The questionnaire "Active Transport and Routines", to evaluate the means of transport, distance and time spent in the home-school trip. There were only statistically significant differences in the means of transport used depending on the distance to travel (p<.00). At distances up to one km, students are preferably on foot; over distances they travel by car and bus. There were no significant differences in sex and age. No student reported cycling to school. There is a concordance between the children's and parents' perception of distance, means of transportation used and time spent on home-school trips. Home-school distance was the only variable that differentiated the means of transportation used. Children and their parents have a similar perception of the distance, time and means of transportation used in the home-school trip.