Title
Socio-demographic patterns of public, private and active travel in Latin America: Cross-sectional findings from the ELANS study
Date Issued
01 March 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Ferrari G.L.d.M.
Kovalskys I.
Fisberg M.
Gómez Salas G.
Rigotti A.
Cortés Sanabria L.Y.
Yépez García M.C.
Pareja Torres R.G.
Herrera-Cuenca M.
Zimberg I.Z.
Guajardo V.
Pratt M.
Gonçalves P.B.
Rosales-Salas J.
Cristi-Montero C.
Rodríguez-Rodríguez F.
Waddell H.
Petermann-Rocha F.
Celis-Morales C.A.
Chaput J.P.
Scholes S.
Solé D.
Koletzko B.
Moreno L.A.
Tucker K.L.
Amigo M.P.
Janezic X.
Cardini F.
Echeverry M.
Langsman M.
Grande de França N.A.
Echeverría G.
Landaeta L.
Castillo Ó.
Vargas L.N.
Tobar L.F.
Castillo Y.M.
Rojas R.M.
Chinnock A.
Cáceres M.V.
Ocampo M.B.
Abad M.
Landaeta M.
Méndez B.
Vasquez M.
Rivas O.
Meza C.
Ruiz S.
Ramirez G.
Hernández P.
Chiavegatto Filho A.D.P.
Alberico C.
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
Background: Active travel such as walking or cycling has been associated with more favorable health outcomes. However, evidence on patterns of transportation in Latin America is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to quantify and characterise socio-demographic patterns of public, private and active travel in Latin American countries. Methods: Data from the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health, a population-based, cross-sectional survey conducted in eight Latin American countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela (n = 9218; age range: 15–65 years). Transportation modes include public (bus, taxi, subway and train), private (car and motorcycle) and active (walking and/or cycling). Outcomes for this study include time spent in different modes of transportation. We performed overall and country-specific descriptive analyses to examine differences by sex, age, socioeconomic and education level. Results: For the overall cohort, public transport represent 34.9% of the total travel time, whereas private, walking and cycling represent 48.2%, 10.6% and 6.3% of the total travel time. Time spent using public travel was highest in Venezuela (48.4%); Peru had the highest proportions of private travel (52.5%); Time spent walking and cycling was highest in Costa Rica (14.8% and 12.2%, respectively). The average travel time spent in public and private transport were 299.5 min/week (95% CI: 292.4307.0) and 379.6 min/week (95% CI: 368.0, 391.5) respectively; figures for walking and cycling were 186.9 min/week (95% CI: 181.8, 191.9) and 201.1 min/week (95% CI: 187.8, 216.9). Conclusions: Public and private transport were the most common forms of travel in Latin America. Active travel (walking or cycling) represent 17% of total physical activity, therefore, promoting and providing the right infrastructure for active commuting could translate in increasing the population overall levels of physical activity in Latin America.
Volume
16
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencias del deporte y la aptitud física
Planificación del transporte y aspectos sociales del transporte
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85075428798
Source
Journal of Transport and Health
ISSN of the container
22141405
Sponsor(s)
The ELANS was supported by a scientific grant from the Coca Cola Company , and support from the Ferrero, Instituto Pensi/Hospital Infantil Sabara , International Life Science Institute of Argentina , Universidad de Costa Rica , Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile , Pontificia Universidad Javeriana , Universidad Central de Venezuela (CENDES-UCV) / Fundación Bengoa , Universidad San Francisco de Quito , and Instituto de Investigación Nutricional de Peru . The funding sponsors had no role in study design, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results. This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (No. NCT02226627 ).
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus