Evaluation of a school-based intervention in Physical Education to promote cycling: The PACO Study

Background:
The current educational law in Spain incorporates the promotion of active commuting (i.e., walking and cycling) among scholars. Nevertheless, there is a low rate of cycling to school in Spanish youth (0,2%).
Purpose:
The objective is to analyse the effects of a school-based intervention in Physical Education to promote cycling among adolescents.
Methods:
It is a cluster-randomized controlled trial including 177 adolescents (14-15 years) belonging to 8 schools from 4 Spanish cities. A school-based intervention was implemented during 4 Physical Educations lessons. The measures were: satisfaction with the intervention, cycling skills and knowledge, mode of commuting to/from school, the basic psychological needs satisfaction, and the perceived barriers to active commuting to school.
Results:
There was a high satisfaction with the school-based intervention, an appropriate developing of the cycling skills and an improvement in the cycling knowledge. In addition, there was a significant decrease on the perceived skill to walk and cycle (p<0.05), and an increase on the perceived barriers to active commuting to school (p<0.05). There were no changes in the mode of commuting to/from school.
Conclusion:
The school-based intervention did not increase cycling to/from school. However, the intervention group increased the awareness of the complexity of cycling skills and the perceived barriers to active commuting, compared to the control group.
Practical implications:
School-based interventions to promote cycling as a usual mode of commuting should be implemented in longer periods of time, through the design of a global programme along the entire school age range (i.e., from 3 to 18 years old). Furthermore, the school, family, and community involvement may guarantee positive and long-term behaviour changes.
Funding:
The Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and European Regional Development (DEP2016-75598-R, MINECO/FEDER, UE), the MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 (PID2021.126126OA.I00.) and “FEDER” (European Union) (Plan Propio de Investigación 2023, Universidad de Granada).