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Built environment and active transport to school: BEATS Natural Experiment

Year:
2019
Duration:
16 months
Approved budget:
$1,197,487.75
Researchers:
Professor Sandra Mandic
Health issue:
Physical activity/exercise
Proposal type:
Project
Lay summary
Physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles among adolescents are global public health problems which increase the risk of obesity and reduced psychosocial health. Active transport to school is a convenient way to integrate physical activity into everyday life. Several Dunedin neighbourhoods have been undergoing on-road and off-road cycling infrastructure construction since 2014 and pedestrian-related infrastructure changes in 2018, affecting 6 out of 12 Dunedin secondary schools. The BEATS Natural Experiment study will examine the effects of these built environment changes on active transport to school in Dunedin adolescents, and their physical activity levels, as well as their perceptions of the school neighbourhood built environment. Data will be collected through schools using published research methods. Analysis will include 2014/2015 BEATS Study data (www.otago.ac.nz/beats), and contemporary ecological models for active transport that account for individual, social, environmental, and policy factors. Findings will inform planning of future built environment and active transport interventions. This grant was awarded to University of Otago but was later transfered to Auckland University of Technology.