Best poster award for student and prof

Congratulations to graduate student Val Confesor and Dr. Brenda Bruner, associate professor in the School of Physical and Health Education, and who recently won the best poster award at the Active Living Research Conference in Clearwater, Florida.The title of the award-winning poster presentation is The association between active transportation to school and daily physical activity among elementary students living in Northeastern Ontario.
Many other faculty members in the School of Physical and Health Education were involved in the project as well, including Dr. Dean Hay, Dr. Kristina Karvinen, Dr. Graydon Raymer, and Dr. Greg Rickwood, as well as post-doctorate fellow Sara Scharoun. The project is in partnership with the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit. The research used data generated from Dr. Bruner’s 2014 Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant.
Here’s an abstract on the award-winning poster:
There is an on-going concern of low rates of physical activity (PA) among youth, with only 9% of 5-17 year olds accumulating the recommended minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on at least six days of the week. Physical inactivity is associated with negative health outcomes in children such as higher risks of developing hypertension and obesity in adolescence. Low PA participation also has the potential to track into adulthood, and therefore effective strategies to increase PA need to be explored and implemented. Active transportation to school (ATS) can provide an opportunity for children to increase their daily PA; however, rates of ATS have declined over time. Further, most data examining ATS and its impact on PA has been from urban/suburban contexts with limited literature in other settings.
Objectives: To assess the contribution of ATS to total daily PA and MVPA among students living in a small city in Northeastern Ontario.
Methods: Students aged 5-12 years were recruited from an elementary school at three time points. Participants were fitted with accelerometer devices for five consecutive school days.
Results: After controlling for age, the percent MVPA and total active minutes were significantly greater on ATS days (to school and overall) compared to passive transportation days.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that active minutes, and more specifically MVPA minutes accumulated on the way to school via ATS, are important contributors to daily PA. These findings align with previous research conducted in larger urban/suburban areas, which have reported that students who actively commute to school are generally more active and accumulate more PA throughout the whole day.
Implications for Practice and Policy:  ATS is a valuable way to help elementary students meet their recommended, daily PA levels. Lack of PA during youth may predispose individuals to chronic diseases later in life and therefore, it is important for elementary schools and key ATS stakeholders in the community to work collaboratively to implement initiatives that promote ATS among students.?