The health impact and physical environmental determinants of active commuting to school
Nelson, Norah Marie
(2007)
The health impact and physical environmental determinants of active commuting to school.
PhD thesis, Dublin City University.
Increasing the level o f participation in habitual physical activity o f at least moderate intensity conducted by youth is a health promotion and a disease-prevention strategy. The aim o f this thesis was to investigate the benefits and determinants of active commuting to school among Irish adolescents. In a behaviour-specific and context-specific analysis, the perceived physical environment was examined as a determinant o f active commuting to school, and the potential confounding factors of distance and density were explored. Existing theoretical models describing the physical environment were evaluated and improved.