The ENERGYCO Study (ENERGYCO)

ENERGY Expenditure of COmmuting to School

The aims of this school-based cycling intervention called "ENERGY Commuting to school" (ENERGYCO) will be divided into two phases: Phase I will aim: 1) to design, test, and validate predictive equations for the objective quantification of the energy expenditure related to different modes of commuting to school (i.e., walking, cycling, motorized-vehicle); and 2) to quantify the energy expenditure of each mode of commuting to school using indirect calorimetry in adolescents; and Phase II will aim to evaluate the effect of a school-based cycling intervention on different health-related outcomes, such as energy expenditure, resting metabolic rate, basal metabolism, physical activity levels, body composition, muscle strength, cardiorespiratory fitness, blood pressure, physical literacy, motor competence, and psychosocial outcomes on Spanish adolescents.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Physical Activity; Body Composition; Behavior; Energy Expenditure
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Cycling Intervention Group

Detailed Description

The ENERGYCO study is a cluster-randomized controlled trial focused on the energy expenditure associated with commuting to school. Phase I will aim to develop predictive equations for quantifying energy expenditure during different modes of commuting (walking, cycling, motorized-vehicle) and to measure energy expenditure using indirect calorimetry in adolescents. Phase II will assess the impact of a school-based cycling intervention on various health outcomes in Spanish adolescents, including energy expenditure, metabolic rate, physical activity levels, body composition, muscle strength, fitness, blood pressure, physical literacy, motor competence, and psychosocial outcomes. Phase I will involve recruiting approximately 50 adolescents to quantify energy expenditure during walking, cycling, and motorized-vehicle. For Phase II, a random sample of around 300 schoolchildren aged 12-16 from three Spanish cities will undergo a eight-week cycling intervention involving Bikeability sessions and encouragement strategies. Therefore, the ENERGYCO study aims to develop predictive equations for measuring energy expenditure during active commuting to school and assess the impact of a cycling intervention on adolescent health. It is expected to contribute significantly to research and society by providing insights into the effects of active commuting and cycling interventions on adolescent energy expenditure, physical and mental health.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 300
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Granada, Spain, 18071
    • Recruiting
    • University of Granada
    • Contact: Emilio Villa-González, PhD; Phone Number: 637942790; Email: evilla@ugr.es

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. the school has a specific space for parking bicycles and allows for their parking
2. the school does not have a specific school bus route
3. the school has at least two lines per class
4. at least eight students from the school will agree to participate in the study (i.e., presenting a signed parental consent).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cycling group; The intervention will include two Bikeability sessions and encouragements strategies will be carried out to complete the eight-weeks intervention based on cycling to and from school	Behavioral: Cycling Intervention Group; A eight-weeks school-based cycling program. The school-based cycling intervention consists of 2 Bikeability sessions of 60 min at Physical Education lessons in school, and will focus on promote biking through theory and practice lessons about cycle training skills including on-road training. In addition, participants will receive encouragement strategies, one for each week of the intervention, for cycling to and from school during eight weeks.
No Intervention: Control group; The control group will keep their usual mode of commuting to and from school.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change of the resting metabolic rate	Assessment of the resting metabolic rate using indirect calorimetry (Ominical)	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Change of the daily energy expenditure	Assessment of the energy expenditure using predictive equations developed during the Phase I of the stuy and validated against indirect calorimetry (Cosmed K5)	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change of Physical activity levels	Assessment of the physical activity levels using accelerometry and the "Youth Physical Activity Profile" questionnaire	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Heart rate monitoring	Assessment of the intensity of the commuting by bike to and from school using a pulsometer	During the 8 weeks when the participant will cycle to and from school
Resting heart rate monitoring	Assessment of the resting heart rate using a pulsometer	First weekend of the school-based cycling intervention
Cycling skill assessment: Bikeability sessions	Assessment of the cycling skills in a closed circuit	First week of the school-based cycling intervention
Change of physical fitness	Assessment of cardiorespiratory fitness (Course Navette), muscular strength (analog dinamometer), and blood pressure (stethoscope )	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Change of physical literacy	Assesment of phsychological, social, cognitive, and motor competence using the Spanish perceived physical literacy instrument for adolescents (PPLI-Q) and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2)	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Change of anthropometric measures	Assessment of height and weight, (e.g., weight and height will be combined to report BMI in kg/m^2)	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Change of anthropometric measures	Assessment of waist and neck circumference in centimeters	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Change of body composition	Assessment of fat free mass, fat mass, lean mass index, fat mass index, body fat percentage, visceral adipose tissue, and bone mineral content using Dual energy X-ray absorptimetry (DEXA)	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Change of cognitive determinants	Assessment of subjective norm, intention, perceived behavioral control and attitude using Questionnaire stages of change	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Change of perceptions to active commuting to and from school	Assessment of perceived barriers to active commute to school using the Barriers for active commuting to school questionnaire (BATACE)	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Change in children's psychosocial variables	Assessment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness using the Basic Pshychological Need Satisfaction Need in Active Commuting to and from School questionnaire (BPNS ACS)	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Change in children's psychosocial variables	Assessment of satisfaction and motivation to active commuting to and from school using the Behavioural Regulation in Active Commuting to and from School questionnaire	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Change in children's psychosocial variables	Assessment of self-Esteem and mental health using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Children sociodemographic characteristics	Participants self-report their age, school grade and class, gender, full postal address, bicycle owners through a student questionnaire	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Parents sociodemographic characteristics	Parents self-report the school name, child name, age, gender, children´s gender, and full postal address, parental education level through a parents questionnaire	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Family socioeconomic status	Children and parents self-report their family income using the Family Affluence Scale questionnaire (FAS III)	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Change of parental perceptions	Assessment of the parents´ barriers to allow their adolescent to active commuting to and from school using the Parental Perception of Barriers towards active commuting to school questionnaire (PABACS)	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Distance home-school-home	Assessment of the route characteristics using Google Maps and GPS	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
Weather	Assessment of the Temperature (maximum, minimum, mean), total rainfall, and mean wind speed using data from the National Weather Data Bank	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
School characteristics	Assessment of the school enrolment by electronic and manual search	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
School characteristics	Assessment of the school socioeconomic status using Geographical Information System	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
School characteristics	Assessment of the school engagement using data from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)
City characteristics	Assessment of the population density and city income using data from the Tax Agency, Spanish Public Ministry of Finance and Public Administration of Spain	8 weeks during both measurement points (Baseline and post-intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universidad de Granada
• Collaborators: University of Otago; University of Jaén; Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain; Navarra Institute for Health Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 6, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 9, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): May 16, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 16, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 9, 2024
• Last Verified: May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Energy expenditure; Cycling; Physical activity; Body composition; School; Resting metabolic rate
• Other Study ID Numbers: ENERGYCO

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No