The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of commute methods on body composition and health-related fitness in male and female middle school students, and to identify the commute methods that had positive impacts. A survey was administ...
The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of commute methods on body composition and health-related fitness in male and female middle school students, and to identify the commute methods that had positive impacts. A survey was administered to a total of 398 middle school first graders (193 boys and 205 girls) to collect data on their commute method and lifestyle. Body composition and health-related fitness factors were measured based on the survey data. The main study findings are as follows. Body composition and health-related fitness test results showed that the boys did not show a significant difference among the groups commuting to school on foot, by bicycle, and by public transportation on the following items: height, weight, BMI, body fat, muscle mass, body fat percentage, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, muscle mass in the right arm, muscle mass in the right leg, one-leg stand test, bicep power, quadriceps power, the plank, and the Sargent jump. However, boys commuting to school by bicycle had significantly higher scores than boys using public transportation on the following: musculoskeletal masses, body fluid volume, upper-extremity muscle mass, lower-extremity muscle mass, trunk muscle mass, basal metabolic rate, grip strength, sit-and-reach test (flexibility), and abdominal obesity. In girls, the groups commuting to school on foot and by public transportation did not significantly differ from each other in height, weight, BMI, body fat, muscle mass, musculoskeletal masses, body fat percentage, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, upper-extremity muscle mass, lower-extremity muscle mass, trunk muscle mass, basal metabolic rate, the sit-up, the side-step, grip strength, sit-and-reach test, one-leg stand test, bicep power, quadriceps power, and the plank. However, compared to girls commuting to school by public transportation, those commuting to school on foot were significantly lower in abdominal obesity and visceral fat, and jumped significantly higher in the Sargent jump test. With the exception of commute method, exercise-related variables among the lifestyle variables did not show a significant difference between the boy and girl groups. To summarize the findings, walking or bicycling to school had positive effects on body composition and health-related fitness factors in both boys and girls when compared to using public transportation. Therefore, to prevent obesity and increase health-related fitness in adolescence, it is suggested that society provide support and encourage adolescents to be physically active while commuting to school.