Full Professor
Email: pchillon@ugr.es
Founder researcher of the PROFITH research Group and President of RIIDASS (Ibeo-American Network of Researchers in Active Commuting, Health and Sustainability).
Palma Chillón has a Bachelor degree on Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (1999), a Bachelor degree on Occupational Therapy (2005) and Phd in Physical Activity and Health (2005), at the University of Granada (Spain).
Her professional career started as a Physical Education Teacher in Junta de Andalucía (2000-06) and followed as a teacher in the School of Sport Sciences at University of Granada (2005-currently), where she is now Full Professor. She has visited as a researcher the University of North Carolina (USA) (2009/10), the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) (2013), the Pontificia Católica Universidad de Valparaíso (Chile) (2017-17) and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) (2023-24).
Her main interest areas are physical activity and Physical Education in young people. Regarding physical activity, the research focuses on active behaviours when commuting to school through the study of the determinants and benefits of active commuting, elaboration of valid and feasible tools and designing school-based intervention programs. Regarding Physical Education, the research focuses on promotion health within the school curricula and the bilingüism in Physical Education.
Contribución. A systematic review that contributes scientifically and at the public policy level with relevant information to promote physical activity in educational centers, focused on the daily trip they make to school and when they return from school. In addition, practical considerations are provided for science and policy that could contribute to increasing the physical activity and health of schoolchildren. It was the first review on this topic and currently, four updates have been performed and published.
2. Chillón P, Panter J, Corder K, Jones AP, Van Sluijs EM. A longitudinal study of the distance that young people walk to school. Health and Place2015, 31:133-137.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.10.013
Contribution. It is a longitudinal design in a sample of English children from the SPEEDY study, which evaluates the distance home-school that young people walk daily throughout three moments of their educational school-life, which are at 9/10 years old, 10/11 years old and in secondary school with 13/14 years old. It concludes that that the older they are, they cover greater distances, traveling an average of 1,421 meters at 10 years old, 1,627 meters at 11 years old, and 3,046 meters at 14 years old, an aspect to take into account when promoting active travel.
Contribution. It is an original article on the topic of how the environment where we live influences the way young people commute to and from school, and how this can differ in rural and urban environments. It contributes to knowing that in the analysis of environments we must contemplate and address the differences between rural and urban contexts. In addition, it provides information on the calculation of walkability indices to identify when the routes are carried out on paths that are accessible for walking or, on the contrary, are inaccessible and make it difficult to walk.
Contribution. It is an observational study where, for the first time, data is available on the modes of travel to school for young Spanish people aged 6 to 18 years old, covering the entire Spanish territory with the participation of a considerable number of universities and public institutions. The data was collected, merged and cleaned and finally, there was more than 35,000 data. This article responds to the fact that 60% of children and adolescents walk to school and furthermore, this trend has continued in the recent years.
5. Campos-Garzón P, Saucedo-Araujo RG, Sevil-Serrano J, Migueles JH, Barranco-Ruiz Y, Chillón P. A systematic review in device-measured physical activity during active commuting to/from school: practical considerations to assess when, where and how much it occurs. Transport Reviews 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2023.2175276
Contribution. It is a systematic review that contributes scientifically and at the public policy level with relevant information to promote physical activity in schoolchildren when they travel to and from school daily. The studies primarily evaluate the total amount of physical activity per day, forgetting when and where it is performed. This study analyzes the literature and also provides practical considerations for science and policy that could contribute to increasing the physical activity and health of schoolchildren.
