A School-Based Randomized Controlled Trial to Promote Cycling to School in Adolescents: The PACO Study.

This manuscript describes the rationale and protocol of a school-based randomized controlled trial called "Cycling and Walk to School" (PACO, by its Spanish acronym) that aims to promote cycling to and from school and physical activity (PA) in adolescents. This study will examine the effects of this intervention in cycling and active commuting to and from school (ACS), PA and several ACS-related factors based on self-determination theory (SDT) and a social-ecological model (SEM). A total of 360 adolescents attending six high schools (three experimental and three control) from three Spanish cities will participate in this randomized controlled trial. The intervention (four cycling sessions; 1-2 h per session, one session per week) will be conducted by the research staff; the control group will continue their usual activities. PA levels will be measured by accelerometers, whereas ACS and the other study variables will be self-reported using questionnaires at baseline and post-intervention. The primary outcomes will be: rates of cycling to school, ACS and PA levels. In addition, SDT-related variables and individual, interpersonal, community, and environment variables relevant to ACS will be based on SEM. The findings will provide a comprehensive understanding of the short-term effects of this school-based intervention on cycling to school behaviour, ACS and PA levels in Spanish adolescents.

Feasibility and reliability of the Spanish version of the Youth Activity Profile questionnaire (YAP-Spain) in children and adolescents.

Considerable public health efforts across the globe have focused on promoting physical activity (PA) and minimizing sedentary behaviour (SB) in youths. However, it is important to have valid, reliable and feasible methods to assess these behaviours in youths. The purpose of this study was to analyse the feasibility and reliability of the Spanish version of the previously validated Youth Activity Profile questionnaire (YAP) in children and adolescents. The YAP-S is a 15-item self-report instrument designed to capture PA and SB in youths. A total of 604 children (5-12 years old) and 346 adolescents (12-17 years old) filled out the questionnaire twice (14 days apart). Feasibility was evaluated through required time and number of misunderstood questions by participants. The test-retest reliability was examined using the weighted kappa coefficient (κ) and intraclass correlation coefficient. The average time to complete the questionnaire was 28.85 ± 14.28 and 12.24 ± 9.84 minutes in children and adolescents, respectively. No misunderstanding of questions was reported. The questionnaire showed an adequate reliability for activity at school, out-of-school and sedentary behaviours (k = 0.61-0.77; ICC = 0.77-0.89) in children and adolescents. The YAP-S might be considered a feasible and reliable questionnaire for assessing PA and SB in Spanish children and adolescents.

Psychometric Characteristics of a Commuting-to-School Behaviour Questionnaire for Families.

The purposes of this study were: (a) to describe the patterns of modes of commuting to school (children) and to work (parents) separated by gender and age, (b) to validate the questions on children's mode of commuting to and from school according to their parents, and (c) to analyse the reliability of a family questionnaire focused on commuting to school behaviours. A total of 611 parents (mean age: 43.28 ± 6.25 years old) from Granada (Spain) completed "Family commuting-to-school behaviour" questionnaire in two sessions separated by 14 days, (2016 and 2018). The validation between family and children's questions was assessed using the Kappa and Spearman correlation coefficients, and the test-retest reliability within the family questions was assessed using the Kappa and the weighted Kappa. The children's modes of commuting to school (mean age: 11.44 ± 2.77 years old) were mainly passive (57.7% to school) while parents' modes of commuting to work were mainly active (71.6%). The validity of the mode of commuting was significant with high Kappa and Spearman coefficients. The test-retest reliability presented a good agreement for the mode of commuting to school in children, distance and time to school, and the mode of commuting to work in parents, while the questions on acceptable distance to walk or cycle to school showed a moderate to good agreement. The "Family commuting-to-school behaviour" questionnaire could be a useful tool to assess the mode of commuting of children, distance and time to school for researchers and practitioners.

Feasibility and Reliability of a Questionnaire to Assess the Mode, Frequency, Distance and Time of Commuting to and from School: The PACO Study.

Active commuting to and from school has several health implications. Self-reporting is the most common assessment tool, but there is a high heterogeneity of questionnaires in the scientific literature. The purpose of this study was to analyse the feasibility and reliability of the Spanish "New Version of Mode and Frequency of Commuting To and From School" questionnaire in children and adolescents. A total of 635 children (5-12 years old) and 362 adolescents (12-18 years old) filled out the questionnaire twice (14 days apart). Feasibility was evaluated using an observational checklist. The test-retest reliability of the "New Version of Mode and Frequency of Commuting To and From School" questionnaire and the distance and time to school were examined using the kappa and weight kappa coefficient (κ). No misunderstanding of questions was reported. The time to complete the questionnaire was 15 ± 3.62 and 9 ± 2.26 min for children and adolescents, respectively. The questionnaire showed substantial and almost perfect kappa coefficients for the overall six items (k = 0.61-0.94) in children and adolescents. The "New Version of Mode and Frequency of Commuting To and From School" questionnaire is a feasible and reliable questionnaire in Spanish children and adolescents.

Efecto de la precipitación y el periodo estacional sobre los patrones de desplazamiento al centro educativo en niños y adolescentes de Granada / Effect of precipitation and seasonal period on the patterns of commuting to school in children and adolescents from Granada

Introducción: El desplazamiento activo (ir andando o en bicicleta) al centro educativo contribuye a aumentar los niveles de actividad física en jóvenes. Las condiciones climatológicas podrían influenciar dicho comportamiento. Objetivo: El objetivo es estudiar la influencia de la precipitación en forma de lluvia y del periodo estacional, en el modo de desplazamiento al colegio e instituto en niños y adolescentes de la ciudad de Granada. Método: Participaron un total de 384 estudiantes (166 niños y 218 adolescentes) entre 8 y 18 años de 2 centros (colegio e instituto) de la capital Granadina. Los participantes completaron un cuestionario sobre el modo de desplazamiento semanal en las tres estaciones del año académico. Los datos de precipitación en estas tres semanas fueron obtenidos desde la Agencia Estatal de Meteorología. Las asociaciones entre la precipitación en forma de lluvia y la estación con el modo de desplazamiento activo al colegio se estudió mediante el test McNemar. Resultados: A nivel general, no se encontraron asociaciones significativas entre la precipitación y el periodo estacional con el modo de desplazamiento de los niños y adolescentes (p>0,05) a excepción de dos asociaciones: a) el efecto positivo de la lluvia en el porcentaje de niños que andan al colegio entre un día lluvioso y un día no lluvioso en primavera (p=0,031) y b) el ligero efecto de la estación en el porcentaje de niños y adolescentes que andan entre otoño e invierno (45,8% y 37,5% andan) y entre otoño y primavera (59,7% y 56%) respectivamente (p=0,07). Conclusión: Las condiciones climatológicas parecen tener poca influencia en el modo de desplazamiento en niños y adolescentes de Granada, pareciendo existir un hábito constante en dicho comportamiento a lo largo del curso académico (AU)

Background: Active commuting (walking or cycling) to school contributes to increase physical activity levels in young people. Meteorological conditions might have a remarkable influence on this behaviour. Objective: The aim is to study the impact of the rainfall and seasonality on the mode of commuting to primary school or secondary school in children and adolescents from Granada. Methods: A total of 384 students (166 children and 218 adolescents) between 8-18 years from 2 different schools (primary and secondary schools) of Granada took part in the research. Participants filled a questionnaire about their weekly pattern on the mode of commuting to school in the three seasons of the academic year. Data about the rainfall in those three weeks was obtained from the National Agency of Meteorology. The association between rainfall and seasonality with mode of commuting to school was studied by McNemar test. Results: No significant associations were spotted between the rainfall and the seasonality with mode of commuting in children and adolescents (p>0.05) except for: a) a positive effect of rainfall in the percentage of children who usually walked to school between a rainy day and a non-rainy day in spring (p=0.031) and b) a weak effect of the seasonality on the percentage of children and adolescents who usually walk between autumn and winter (45.8% and 37.5% walk to school) and between autumn and spring (59.7% and 56%) respectively (p=0.07). Conclusions: The meteorological conditions do not seem to influence the mode of commuting to school in children and adolescents from Granada, which might indicate that this behavior keeps a constant pattern throughout the whole academic year (AU)

[Effect of precipitation and seasonal period on the patterns of commuting to school in children and adolescents from Granada]. / Efecto de la precipitación y el periodo estacional sobre los patrones de desplazamiento al centro educativo en niños y adolescentes de Granada.

BACKGROUND: Active commuting (walking or cycling) to school contributes to increase physical activity levels in young people. Meteorological conditions might have a remarkable influence on this behaviour. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to study the impact of the rainfall and seasonality on the mode of commuting to primary school or secondary school in children and adolescents from Granada. METHODS: A total of 384 students (166 children and 218 adolescents) between 8-18 years from 2 different schools (primary and secondary schools) of Granada took part in the research. Participants filled a questionnaire about their weekly pattern on the mode of commuting to school in the three seasons of the academic year. Data about the rainfall in those three weeks was obtained from the National Agency of Meteorology. The association between rainfall and seasonality with mode of commuting to school was studied by McNemar test. RESULTS: No significant associations were spotted between the rainfall and the seasonality with mode of commuting in children and adolescents (p>0.05) except for: a) a positive effect of rainfall in the percentage of children who usually walked to school between a rainy day and a non-rainy day in spring (p=0.031) and b) a weak effect of the seasonality on the percentage of children and adolescents who usually walk between autumn and winter (45.8% and 37.5% walk to school) and between autumn and spring (59.7% and 56%) respectively (p=0.07). CONCLUSIONS: The meteorological conditions do not seem to influence the mode of commuting to school in children and adolescents from Granada, which might indicate that this behavior keeps a constant pattern throughout the whole academic year.

Introducción: El desplazamiento activo (ir andando o en bicicleta) al centro educativo contribuye a aumentar los niveles de actividad física en jóvenes. Las condiciones climatológicas podrían influenciar dicho comportamiento. Objetivo: El objetivo es estudiar la influencia de la precipitación en forma de lluvia y del periodo estacional, en el modo de desplazamiento al colegio e instituto en niños y adolescentes de la ciudad de Granada. Método: Participaron un total de 384 estudiantes (166 niños y 218 adolescentes) entre 8 y 18 años de 2 centros (colegio e instituto) de la capital Granadina. Los participantes completaron un cuestionario sobre el modo de desplazamiento semanal en las tres estaciones del año académico. Los datos de precipitación en estas tres semanas fueron obtenidos desde la Agencia Estatal de Meteorología. Las asociaciones entre la precipitación en forma de lluvia y la estación con el modo de desplazamiento activo al colegio se estudió mediante el test McNemar. Resultados: A nivel general, no se encontraron asociaciones significativas entre la precipitación y el periodo estacional con el modo de desplazamiento de los niños y adolescentes (p>0,05) a excepción de dos asociaciones: a) el efecto positivo de la lluvia en el porcentaje de niños que andan al colegio entre un día lluvioso y un día no lluvioso en primavera (p=0,031) y b) el ligero efecto de la estación en el porcentaje de niños y adolescentes que andan entre otoño e invierno (45,8% y 37,5% andan) y entre otoño y primavera (59,7% y 56%) respectivamente (p=0,07). Conclusión: Las condiciones climatológicas parecen tener poca influencia en el modo de desplazamiento en niños y adolescentes de Granada, pareciendo existir un hábito constante en dicho comportamiento a lo largo del curso académico.