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Effectiveness of an active commuting school-based intervention at 6-month follow-up
Emilio Villa-González1, Jonatan R Ruiz2, Dianne S Ward3
1Department of Physical Culture, School of Health Sciences, National University of Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" research group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, School of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain evilla@unach.edu.ec.
Background:
Active commuting to school may provide a significant source of physical activity in youth. Previous school-based intervention studies have shown a positive effect on increasing the frequency of active commuting to school in the short-term. However, how the observed effects are after the intervention remains to be investigated. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of a school-based intervention on active commuting to school at 6-month follow-up.
Methods:
A total of 494 children ages 8-11 years from 5 primary schools were invited to the study. The schools were non-randomly allocated into control or experimental group. The experimental group received a 6-month programme focused on increasing active commuting to school, while the control group received no intervention. Frequency and mode of commuting to school were measured using a questionnaire at pre-intervention, post-intervention and 6-month follow-up. Children with valid data on commuting to school and provided data for sex, age and distance from home were included in this study (n= 206).
Results:
There was a significant difference in the change of number of walk and bike travels per week between groups at 6-month follow-up (Control-Group = -0.4 ± 0.3; Experimental-Group = 0.6 ± 0.2;p = 0.019). Regarding the frequency of mode of commuting, only a change in walking to school was significantly different between the groups at 6-month follow-up (Difference Follow-up-Post-intervention) (Control-Group = -0.6 ± 0.3; Experimental-Group = 0.7 ± 0.2;p = 0.004).
Conclusions:
A 6-month school-based intervention focused on increasing active commuting to school could be effective strategy for increasing the frequency of active commuting to school even beyond the period of intervention.
