Table 2.
Main outcomes of included studies that analyzed the association between active commuting to and from school (ACS) and cognitive performance.
| Reference | Results | Covariates |
|---|---|---|
| Ruiz-Hermosa et al. 2018 [40] | No differences were found between walking to school and passive commuters with Nonverbal Intelligence and General Intelligence outcomes in children aged 4 to <6 years old. Walking to school was not associated with Logical Reasoning, Spatial Factor and General Intelligence outcomes in children aged ≥6 to 7 years old. | Age, BMI, CRF, and SES. |
| Domazet et al. 2016 [43] | Walking and cycling to and from school was not associated with Inhibitory Control. | Age, sex, SES, breakfast consumption, and supporting teaching outside the classroom during school hours. |
| López-Vicente et al. 2016 [44] | No differences were found between active commuting to school and passive commuters in Working Memory and Attention outcomes. | Sex, maternal education, SES, residential neighborhood, and air pollution. |
| Van Dijk et al. 2014 [46] | ACS was positively associated with executive functioning (Response Inhibition/Selective Attention) in girls (β = 0.17, p = 0.037), but not in boys. No differences between ACS and passive commuters with Information-processing Speed outcomes were shown. | Sex, academic year, SES, BMI, depressive symptoms, ethnicity, school level, and PA per week by accelerometer. |
| Martínez-Gómez et al. 2011 [50] | Girls in the active commuting to school group had significantly higher scores than girls in the non-active commuting to school group in Overall Cognitive Performance (53.20 ± 14.01 vs. 49.61 ± 12.24; p < 0.001). In addition, girls in the active commuting to school > 15-minute group had better scores in Reasoning Ability and Overall Cognitive Performance (p < 0.05) than girls in the active commuting to school ≤ 15-minute group. No significant differences were found in boys. | Age, school, BMI, and extracurricular PA. |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CRF, cardiorespiratory fitness; PA, physical activity; SES, socioeconomic status.