{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T14:22:31Z","timestamp":1786112551789,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785888000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background\/objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Active travel (AT) is a frequent and feasible source of daily physical activity for school-aged youth; however, no comprehensive synthesis has mapped the evidence for China. This scoping review aimed to characterize the current research landscape on AT among children and adolescents in China and identify gaps to guide future research and policy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study searched five databases (Web of Science, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE, and ERIC) from inception to 1 December 2025. Quantitative studies in English that examined AT among Chinese children and adolescents were included. The reviewer screened records, extracted data, and summarized study characteristics, measures, and topics.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Of the 6,178 records screened, 16 met the inclusion criteria. Publications have increased notably in recent years, with 75.0% appearing from 2017 to 2023. The majority of studies were cross-sectional (93.8%), and one was longitudinal (6.3%). Travel behavior was predominantly self-reported (87.5%), with device-based measures used to capture activity in 12.5% of studies, and none of the studies used devices to capture travel modes (0%). Studies primarily focused on school-aged children\/adolescents in urban settings (81.3%), with a minority spanning mixed urban\u2013rural samples (18.8%). By topic, 56.3% examined correlates, 43.8% assessed health or physical activity outcomes, and 25.0% reported AT prevalence.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Research on AT in China is growing; however, it remains dominated by cross-sectional, self-reported studies, highlighting the need for stronger designs and measures to generate decision-ready evidence. Future studies should prioritize standardized, device-based measures, longitudinal or quasi-experimental designs, and rigorous evaluations of multicomponent and infrastructure interventions that have proven effective in increasing school-based AT. Equity-focused sampling across urban\u2013rural contexts and broader health outcomes (including mental health) is also needed, while leveraging established individual, family, and built-environment correlates to guide policy and practice in China. Moreover, mixed findings on fitness benefits suggest that careful outcome selection and a robust causal design are essential.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1771411","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T15:14:18Z","timestamp":1785942858000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A scoping review of children\u2019s and adolescents\u2019 active travel in China"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Fanxing","family":"Kong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Physical Education, Suihua University","place":["Suihua, Heilongjiang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.3390\/children7050041","article-title":"Association between active travel to school and depressive symptoms among early adolescents","volume":"7","author":"Gu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Children"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100202","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijchp.2020.11.001","article-title":"Active school travel is associated with fewer suicide attempts among adolescents from low-and middle-income countries","volume":"21","author":"Chen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Clin Health Psychol"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1186\/1479-5868-8-5","article-title":"The relationship between active travel to school and health-related fitness in children and adolescents: a systematic review","volume":"8","author":"Lubans","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e036041","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2019-036041","article-title":"Associations of active travel with adiposity among children and socioeconomic differentials: a longitudinal study","volume":"11","author":"Laverty","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e69912","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0069912","article-title":"What are the health benefits of active travel? 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