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Background: Active transportation to school has been positively associated with various health parameters whereas only sparse evidence exists on risk of injury while commuting to school. This study investigated the overall effectiveness of cycling promotion combined with structural changes on cycling to school.Methods: Interventions at public schools in three different regions in Denmark were based on planned infrastructural changes near schools (e.g. road surface and traffic regulation) and school-motivation for promoting commuter cycling. Participants were pupils from control schools (n = 12) or intervention schools (n = 13). All children (n = 2415) from the 4(th) and 5(th) grade were measured at baseline during spring 2010 and at follow-up one year later.Results: No significant differences in commuter cycling were detected in the adjusted analyses comparing the intervention with the control group neither when assessed as changes in short term (beta: 0.15 trips/week, p = 0.463) nor when assessed as changes in long term school cycling (beta: -0.02 units, p = 0.485). No differences were observed neither in the incidence of traffic injuries nor in the characteristics of injuries when comparing the control group and the intervention group. Approximately 50 % of all traffic injuries occurred during school transport with most injuries categorized as solo injuries. The only significant predictor of future traffic injuries was previous school transport injuries.Conclusion: This multifaceted school cycling promotion programme did not affect school cycling behaviour or the health parameters assessed. Implementation issues relevant in the planning of future school cycling interventions are discussed in the article. The one year incidence of being involved in a traffic injury was approximately 25 % with almost 50 % of all traffic injuries occurred during school transport. Previous school transport injury predicted future school traffic injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our objective was to examine the influence of adult and childhood socioeconomic status (SES) on attained adult food intake patterns. We used data from a 20- to 22-y follow-up study of 1904 Danish teenagers. The baseline survey was conducted partly in 1983 and partly in 1985 and the follow-up survey was conducted in 2005. Dietary data were collected at follow-up using a 195-item FF0. Food patterns were derived from principal component analysis. Two food patterns labeled "traditional-western food pattern" and "green food pattern" were identified. In men, adult SES was inversely associated with adherence to the traditional-western food pattern. High adherence to the green food pattern was positively related to high adult SES in both sexes. Among women, those with high SES in childhood had higher green food pattern factor scores than those with low childhood SES, regardless of adult SES. Among men, those with high adult SES had higher green food pattern factor scores than those with low adult SES, regardless of childhood SES. In conclusion, socioeconomic position is important for the development of adult food intake patterns. However, childhood SES seems more important for adult female food intake patterns, whereas adult SES seems more important for adult male food intake patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: The objective of this study was to examine the association of screen time viewing behavior with isometric trunk muscle strength in youth. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out including 606 adolescents (14-16 yr old) participating in the Danish European Youth Heart Study, a population-based study with assessments conducted in either 1997/1998 or 2003/2004. Maximal voluntary contractions during isometric back extension and abdominal flexion were determined using a strain gauge dynamometer, and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) was obtained using a maximal cycle ergometer test. TV viewing time, computer use, and other lifestyle behaviors were obtained by self-report. Analyses of association of screen use behaviors with isometric trunk muscle strength were carried out using multivariable adjusted linear regression. Results: The mean (SD) isometric strength was 0.87 (0.16) N•kg-1. TV viewing, computer use, and total screen time use were inversely associated with isometric trunk muscle strength in analyses adjusted for lifestyle and sociodemographic factors. After further adjustment for CRF and waist circumference, associations remained significant for computer use and total screen time, but TV viewing was only marginally associated with muscle strength after these additional adjustments (-0.05 SD (95% confidence interval, -0.11 to 0.005) difference in strength per 1h•d-1 difference in TV viewing time,P = 0.08). Each 1 h•d-1 difference in total screen time use was associated with -0.09 SD (95% confidence interval, -0.14 to -0.04) lower isometric trunk muscle strength in the fully adjusted model (P = 0.001). There were no indications that the association of screen time use with isometric trunk muscle strength was attenuated among highly fit individuals (P = 0.91 for CRF by screen time interaction). Conclusions: Screen time use was inversely associated with isometric trunk muscle strength independent of CRF and other confounding factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Design: A cross-sectional survey of 481 children aged 8-10 years and 325 adolescents aged 14-16 years obtained through a proportional two-stage cluster sample of children living in Odense, Denmark., Objectives: To investigate whether there are any associations between back pain and the level of self-reported physical activity, the level of self-reported physical inactivity, and the level of objectively measured physical activity. In addition, to test the validity of the self-reported physical activity data., Summary of Background Data: A sedentary lifestyle in children is believed to be harmful for the back, whereas moderate physical activities are supposed to be beneficial. There is no obvious epidemiologic evidence in favor of this concept. In none of the previous studies has the combined activity/inactivity pattern been investigated, nor has the amount of physical activity been measured objectively., Methods: The associations and dose-response connections for back pain, mid back pain, and low back pain in the preceding month were studied in relation to self-reported physical activity and physical inactivity. In addition, an objective and validated method to measure the daily level of physical activity (the accelerometer) was used to establish the associations with the same outcome variables. The association between the level of self-reported activities and the accelerometer was investigated., Results: The self-reported data resulted in mixed findings, but there were no associations between any of the three pain variables and the readings from the accelerometer, and no changes occurred after adjustment for age, gender, and puberty stage. There was a weak and inconsistent correlation (0.25) between the accelerometer readings and self-reported physical activity that nevertheless tested significantly for trend but none between the accelerometer readings and the level of self-reported physical inactivity., Conclusions: There is no obvious association between the objectively measured level of physical activity and back pain in children and adolescents. Simple self-reported levels of physical activity and inactivity cannot be used meaningfully on young people in back pain research.