Learn more about the measures of active travel across selected CLOSER studies
For background detail on this domain of physical activity, click here.
Active travel was measured many times across the longitudinal studies from ages 4y to 60-64y, with data collected in ALPAC, MCS, BCS70, NCDS, and NSHD (see the tables in the page below). Largely, there were three different themes of active travel including (1) travel to school/ childcare/ and college, (2) travel to work, and (3) general and/or other nonspecific travel. Typically, active travel responses were either in walking or cycling, but in one case (ALSPAC age 13y) responses of skateboarding and scooter were also provided.
Click to see the cross-study data availability and comparability for each active travel subdomain:
Travel to school
ALSPAC 6y, 8y, 13y, 16y and MCS 5y, 7y, and 14y ask identical questions on travel to school (“how does [cohort member] get to school and back”), and the method of active travel (walking or cycling) can be compared across all measures. Additionally, responses in duration (minutes) can be compared in MCS 14y and ALSPAC 13y and 16y. These may therefore be comparable in terms of absolute physical activity levels.
BCS70 16y asks specifically about cycling (“use of bicycle in last 2 weeks: a) to go to school”) and may be compared to ALSPAC 13y, 16y and MCS 14y questions on use of cycling.
| Age | Study | Variable name(s) | Question wording | Response scale(s) | Included activities | Timespan of recall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | ALSPAC | kk435 kk436 kk445 kk446 | "How does CM get to school/childcare and back" | every day/ some days | cycling & walking | not specified |
| 5 | ALSPAC | km4190 km4200 km4195 km4205 km4210 km4211 | "How does CM get to school /childcare and back" | minutes, kilometres; every day/ some days | cycling & walking | not specified |
| 5 | MCS | cmtrsc cmtrho cmtrdi | "How does CM get to school and back" | cycling & walking | not specified | |
| 6 | ALSPAC | kp1080 kp1090 kp1085 kp1095 kp1100 kp1101 | "How does CM get to school and back" | minutes, kilometres; every day/ some days | cycling & walking | not specified |
| 7 | MCS | dmtrsc dmtrho dmtrdi | "How does CM get to school and back" | cycling & walking | not specified | |
| 8 | ALSPAC | kt1010 kt1020 kt1015 kt1025 kt1030 kt1031 | "How does CM get to school and back" | minutes, kilometres; every day/ some days | cycling & walking | not specified |
| 13 | ALSPAC | ccp210 ccp211 ccp215 ccp217 | "How does CM get to school and back" | minutes | cycling & walking & skateboard/scooter | not specified |
| 14 | MCS | FPTRSC00 FPTRHO00 TRDI FPTRDI00 | "How does CM get to school and back" | minutes | cycling & walking | not specified |
| 16 | ALSPAC | ccs7000 - ccs7045 | "How did you get to school/college today" | minutes | cycling & walking | today/ last time journey was made |
| 16 | BCS70 | f9a1 - f9a6 | "Use of bicycle in last 2 weeks: a)to go to school…" | yes/no | cycling | past 2 weeks |
| 17 | MCS | GCTRSC00 | "Thinking about getting to the place you study or work. How do you usually travel? Please tell us which method you use for the longest part of your usual journey" | public transport, bus, car, bicycle, walking | not specified |
Note. For the named items in the table above, links are provided (where applicable) to their corresponding content on CLOSER Discovery. Where a variable range is provided, full variable lists can be accessed through the ‘Variable Groups’ tab on the linked Discovery page.
Active travel to work
NSHD 36y and NCDS 44y ask similar questions on travel to work (NSHD: a) “Do you normally use a bike on your way to work, or for part of the way?” b) “On your way to work do you normally walk for five minutes of more on each journey?”; NCDS: “How do you usually travel to work?”), and activity engaged in (cycling or walking) is comparable across measures.
NSHD 36y and NCDS 44y both measure duration, although response options are in different units (NSHD: minutes; NCDS: miles). However these could potentially be converted (e.g. using the average minutes per mile) to derive a common measure of duration.
| Age | Study | Variable name(s) | Question wording | Response scale(s) | Included activities | Timespan of recall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | MCS | GCTRSC00 | "Thinking about getting to the place you study or work. How do you usually travel? Please tell us which method you use for the longest part of your usual journey" | Choose one | public transport, bus, car, bicycle, walking | not specified |
| 19 | MCS | CW1_Timeuse1_12_1 | "How many hours have you been spending doing each of the following activities on a typical weekday since the Coronavirus outbreak began?" | hours rounded to nearest hour | travelling for work | typical weekday during the time specified in question |
| 19 | MCS | CW2_Timeuse_12 | "How many hours have you been spending doing each of the following activities on a typical weekday in the last two weeks?" | hours rounded to nearest hour or half hour | travelling for work | past 2 weeks |
| 36 | NSHD | BIKE82 BIKED82 BIKEL82 | "Do you normally use a bike on your way to work, or for part of the way?" | minutes; days/week | cycling | not specified |
| 36 | NSHD | WALKW82 WALKWT82 | "On your way to work do you normally walk for five minutes or more on each journey?" | minutes | walking | not specified |
| 44 | NCDS | wkbike wkwalk wkmiles wktrips | "How do you usually travel to work? | miles | cycling & walking | not specified |
| 46 | BCS70 | B10Q24C B10Q24D | "How often do you use each of the following methods of transport to travel to your job?" | Always, usually, occasionally, never | Bicycle, walking | not specified |
| 46 | BCS70 | B10Q23 | "How many times a week do you travel from your home to your job?" | Days | not specified | |
| 46 | BCS70 | B10Q22 | "Roughly how many miles is it from home to your job" | miles | not specified | |
| 50 | BCS70 | CW1_Timeuse1_12_1 | "How many hours have you been spending doing each of the following activities on a typical weekday since the Coronavirus outbreak began?" | hours rounded to nearest hour | travelling for work | typical weekday during the time specified in question |
| 50 | BCS70 | CW2_Timeuse_12 | "How many hours have you been spending doing each of the following activities on a typical weekday in the last two weeks?" | hours rounded to nearest hour or half hour | travelling for work | past 2 weeks |
| 62 | NCDS | CW1_Timeuse1_12_1 | "How many hours have you been spending doing each of the following activities on a typical weekday since the Coronavirus outbreak began?" | hours rounded to nearest hour | travelling for work | typical weekday during the time specified in question |
| 62 | NCDS | CW2_Timeuse_12 | "How many hours have you been spending doing each of the following activities on a typical weekday in the last two weeks?" | hours rounded to nearest hour or half hour | travelling for work | past 2 weeks |
| 74 | NSHD | CW1_Timeuse1_12_1 | "How many hours have you been spending doing each of the following activities on a typical weekday since the Coronavirus outbreak began?" | hours rounded to nearest hour | travelling for work | typical weekday during the time specified in question |
| 74 | NSHD | CW2_Timeuse_12 | "How many hours have you been spending doing each of the following activities on a typical weekday in the last two weeks?" | hours rounded to nearest hour or half hour | travelling for work | past 2 weeks |
Note. For the named items in the table above, links are provided (where applicable) to their corresponding content on CLOSER Discovery.
General active travel
While there appear to be no measures at similar ages, ALSPAC 22y, BCS70 34y, and NCDS 46y ask similar questions on general travel (i.e. ALSPAC: “Do you make regular journeys every day or most days”; BCS70/NCDS: “what is your main form of transport”), with comparable activities (cycling or walking) across each measure.
| Age | Study | Variable name(s) | Question wording | Response scale(s) | Included activities | Timespan of recall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | MCS | GCCYCF00 | "How often do you use a bicycle?" | Every day or almost every day, several times a week, once or twice a week, at least once a month, at least once a year, less often or never, do not use | Bicycle | not specified |
| 22 | ALSPAC | YPB2000 YPB2010 YPB2020 | "Do you make regular journeys every day or most days: walking | hours/week | walking | average week |
| 22 | ALSPAC | YPB2000 YPB2030 | "Do you make regular journeys every day or most days: cycling" | hours/week | cycling | average week |
| 26 | ALSPAC | YPF3010 | "Do you make regular journeys every day or most days that are either walking or cycling?" | Neither, walk, cycle, both | walking, cycling | average week |
| 26 | ALSPAC | YPF3020 | "If you walk regularly, how much time do you spend walking on average?" | Hours per week | walking | average week |
| 26 | ALSPAC | YPF3040 | "If you cycle regularly, how much time do you spend cycling in an average week?" | Hours per week | cycling | average week |
| 34 | BCS70 | b7tranrt | "What is your main form of transport" | cycling & walking | not specified | |
| 44 | NCDS | biketot bikeless bikeone biketwo bikethre bikefive bikemore | "Apart from journeys to work, number of journeys do you make in an average week: by bicycle" | miles; journeys/week | cycling | average week |
| 44 | NCDS | walktot walkless walkone walktwo walkthre walkfive walkmore | "Apart from journeys to work, number of journeys do you make in an average week: walking" | miles | walking | average week |
| 46 | NCDS | n7tranrt | "What is your main form of transport" | cycling & walking | not specified |
Note. For the named items in the table above, links are provided (where applicable) to their corresponding content on CLOSER Discovery.
Explore the other domains of physical activity & the comparability of measurements across studies:
- Summary of cross-study comparisons
- Leisure time physical activity
- Occupational activity
- Domestic activities
- Sedentary behaviour
Learn more about the studies covered by this guide and their measurement of physical activity:
- 1946 National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD)
- 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS)
- 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)
- Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)
- Millennium Cohort Study (MCS)
- Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS)
Further information:
- Acknowledgements and copyright information for this guide
- References for this guide
- Download the full guide as a PDF
- Electronic appendix: Index of all documented measures
This page is part of the CLOSER resource: ‘Physical activity across age and study: a guide to data in six CLOSER studies’.