Active transport to and from school
This section presents analysis from the New Zealand Health Survey on school-aged children (5–14 years) who use active transport (such as walking or cycling) to travel to and from school.
Considering the high child obesity rate in Aotearoa New Zealand, using active transport to travel to or from school is an important way for children to get the recommended minimum of physical activity every day.
Surveillance Reports and Metadata 
Using active transport to get to school is good for children's health
Using active transport to travel to and from school is an effective way for children to get some physical activity each day. Sport New Zealand (2023) estimate that in 2022, only 59% of New Zealand children aged 5–11 years had the minimum recommended amount of daily physical activity.
Considering the high child obesity rate in New Zealand, this is a relatively easy way to increase physical activity in children - the latest data from the New Zealand Health Survey indicates that around one in eight children are obese (Ministry of Health 2023).
References 
Ministry of Health. 2023. New Zealand Health Survey Annual Data Explorer. URL: https://minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2022-23-annual-data-explorer (accessed 18 December 2023).
Sport New Zealand. (2023). Active New Zealand: Changes in Participation 2022. URL: https://sportnz.org.nz/media/bnubr3sf/active-nz-changes-in-participation-2022_9-oct-2023.pdf (accessed 12 February 2024).
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