Active school travel and spatial cognition: exploring associations and moderating roles among children

Active school travel (AST), such as walking or biking to/from school, involves physical effort and situational awareness, making it a potentially health-enhancing cognitive activity. However, whether AST is related to cognitive functioning among children has rarely been explored. Hence, this study aims to examine associations between AST and spatial cognitive functions and explore potential moderating factors. Cross-sectional study. Primary caregivers of 510 children aged 8–12 years from Australia reported patterns of AST. Children completed three visuospatial cognitive tests: working memory, mental rotation, and situational awareness (recalling route landmarks and directions). Adjusted linear regressions were conducted to test associations. Interaction terms were used to explore moderation by gender, independent travel experience, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and team sports participation. Adjusted regression analysis showed no significant associations between AST and cognitive outcomes. MVPA moderated the association between walking to school and route directions (B = −0.59, 95% CI [−0.99, −0.19], p = 0.004), with weak evidence of moderation of the association between biking to school and route landmarks (B = −0.90, 95% CI [−1.98, 0.17], p = 0.099). Team sports moderated the association between biking and working memory (B = 8.71, 95% CI [2.01, 15.42], p = 0.011). While regular AST was not directly linked to better spatial cognition, some moderating effects of MVPA and team sport were found. Future research should include longitudinal or experimental study designs, incorporate objective active (school) travel measures, and explore additional dimensions like distance, duration, speed, and cognitive engagement. • Children who engaged in active school travel did not show better spatial cognitive skills compared to other children. • The Route Recall Task proved to be feasible and applicable for assessing situational awareness during active travel. • The association between AST and working memory was more favourable for those who did team sports. • Some associations were slightly more favourable among those with lower MVPA.