Health & Medicine - Posted by Charlotte Hsu-Buffalo on Wednesday, August 11, 2010 11:31 - 8 Comments 
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Why kids should skip the school bus
Children who walk to school rather than riding the bus, and then also get exercise throughout the school day, are better able to handle stress, whether it comes from taking an exam, trying to fit in with peers, or speaking in front of classmates. (Credit: iStockphoto)
U. BUFFALO (US)—Simply walking to school can reduce stress in children and may curb increases in heart rate and blood pressure that can lead to cardiovascular disease later in life.
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In a new study, published in the August issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, children who took a simulated walk to school later experienced smaller elevations in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and perceived stress while taking a short exam than children who had gotten a simulated ride to school.
Cardiovascular reactivity—including changes in heart rate and blood pressure due to stress—is associated with the beginnings of cardiovascular disease in children, and atherosclerosis—the dangerous build-up of cholesterol, calcium, fat and other substances in artery walls—in adults.
“The cardiovascular disease process begins in childhood, so if we can find some way of stopping or slowing that process, that would provide an important health benefit,” says James Roemmich, associate professor of pediatrics and exercise and nutrition science at the University at Buffalo.
“We know that physical activity has a protective effect on the development of cardiovascular disease, and one way it may be doing so is by reducing stress reactivity.”
Roemmich says because it’s not known how long the protective effect of a bout of exercise lasts, parents and educators should promote active play time throughout the day.
“If it only lasts a couple of hours, then it would be most beneficial if a child walked or biked to school, then had recess during school, as well as a break at lunch, so they had opportunities for physical activity throughout the day,” Roemmich says.
“This would put them in a constantly protective state against stressors that they’re incurring during the school day, whether that be taking an exam, trying to fit in with peers or speaking in front of classmates.”
Roemmich says his study is the first to show that moderate-intensity exercise can reduce children’s cardiovascular reactivity during later, stressful activities. The research builds on his earlier work, which demonstrated that higher-intensity interval exercise could afford similar protection in children.
In the new study, Roemmich examined a group of 20 boys and 20 girls, all Caucasian and ages 10-14. All visited the Behavioral Medicine Research Laboratory in the morning.
To simulate a ride to school, half sat in a comfortable chair and watched a 10-minute slide show of images of a suburban neighborhood, ending with an image of a suburban school.
The other half performed a one-mile walk on a treadmill at a self-selected pace, wearing a book bag containing 10 percent of their body weight. As they walked, the images of the suburban neighborhood were projected onto a screen.
Following a 20-minute rest period after completing the passive and active commutes, all children took a Stroop test, which asks subjects to correctly identify the color of color names printed in the wrong color (the word “green” printed in blue ink, for instance).
On average, during this activity, heart rate increased by about three beats per minute in children who walked, compared with about 11 beats per minute in children who “rode” to school. Similarly, the rise in systolic blood pressure was more than three times higher, and the change in perceived stress about twice as high, for the passive commuters.
“The perception of a stressor as a threat is the beginning of the stress reactivity process, so if you can dampen that initial perception, then you reduce the magnitude of the fight-or-flight response,” Roemmich says. “This results in lower heart rate and blood pressure responses to the stressor. Exercise helped dampen even the initial response.”
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8 Comments
R Snider
difficult when it is a rural school – when I had a school in a semi-rural area, we won the Walk to School Day by having students, parents and students walk to the school from off the parking lot and walking either around the school yard or the community before entering the school – but my last school was totally bused [rural] except for one famly and babysitter close by – so what can you do with this totally rural situation?
David Corriveau
For parts of my junior year, and most of my senior year of high school, I walked 2 1/2 miles each way on all but the most awful days (it was only uphill on the way back). Obviously not an option for people living way out in the country, but particularly good in relatively suburban environments.
KarenSC
it’s about 2.5 miles from our house to where all the schools are. I could see the kids biking by middle school, but for now it’s too far. I walked to school in HS – a bit over a mile, mostly due to bad experiences on the bus in middle school, plus met a couple of friends part way. Then walked all over campus in college and grad school – best shape I’ve been in… Wish I had an excuse to walk a mile a day now…
I walked to school all the time in HS. It seems to be even more important now because of how cheap fast food is and the on going obesity problem. Its great when you have a friend that lives near by that you can walk with especially if its a distance. But if the child is too young walking to school alone is not a good opinion.
KarenSC
then there are the parents who drive the 4-5 houses down to the bus stop, pick up kids and drive home. Rediculous!
Helpful stuff. Blood pressure and hypertension have been interests of mine for a long time, and I think that a solid, holistic approach is overall the most promising. You have to eat healthy, exercise, and regularly watch your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and then things should be not too hard. We have lots of info on all that on our site, everyone interested is welcome to take a look.
I thank the Buffalo University Researchers for working on this very important topic involving the formative years of our kids. It is well known that walking is a good exercise for all ages. Kids should be encouraged to walking or cycling for schooling and that will initiate a good and healthy lifestyle in the formative years of their life. This is more important in the wake of the Global Epidemic of Childhood Obesity, which is a big risk for Lifestyle Disorders like Diabetes, Hypertension, Cardiovascular Diseases, etc. etc. Let us hope this will be an eye opener for parents.
When I was in grade and high school I had my choice of walking to school or being the first stop on a long bus route. By walking about a mile I got to sleep another 15 minutes. This might explain why my blood pressure is the same as when I was half my current age.