Enrique García Bengoechea

Sport Ireland · Research & Innovation Unit

Background Current literature reports a gap between development of effective interventions to promote physical activity and the systematic uptake into real-world settings. Factors relating to implementation and scale-up of physical activity interventions have been examined, however the perspectives of multiple stakeholders from different domains ar...

Background: Government policy can promote physical activity (PA) as part of a multilevel systems-based approach. The Physical Activity Environment Policy Index (PA-EPI) is a tool which assesses the implementation of government policy on PA by drawing on the experience of national stakeholders. This study is the first to assess the extent of policy...

Background: A multifaceted response, including government action, is essential to improve population levels of physical activity (PA). This article describes the development process of the 'Physical Activity Environment Policy Index' (PA-EPI) monitoring framework, a tool to assess government policies and actions for creating a healthy PA environme...

Background: This review of reviews aimed to: (1) summarize the evidence from published reviews on the effectiveness of mass-media campaigns to promote physical activity (PA) or PA-related determinants (intermediate psychological and proximal outcomes) and (2) to identify policy-relevant recommendations related to successful PA campaigns. Methods:...

Background: Walking and cycling to school have been extensively studied in urban settings, whereas data from rural areas remain sparse. This study examined perceptions of walking and cycling to school amongst adolescents living within 4.8 km of school in rural New Zealand. Methods: Adolescents (n=62; 53.2% females; 15.6±1.5 years; five schools) res...

Participation in sport contributes to increased physical activity (PA) levels. Increasing PA is a public health concern due to its recognised impact on health outcomes. International policy actors such as the Council of Europe, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) have recommende...

Participation in sport contributes to increased physical activity (PA) levels. Increasing PA is a public health concern due to its recognised impact on health outcomes. International policy actors such as the Council of Europe, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) have recommende...

Purpose There is strong evidence of the links between car-dependence and the physical inactivity pandemic. Physical inactivity accounts for 6–10% of major non-communicable diseases. Research consistently shows that unlike passive transport, active transport is associated with higher total daily physical activity (PA). While there are public policie...

Background Substantial evidence shows that meeting physical activity guidelines is important for disease prevention, promoting physical and mental health and quality of life. In Ireland, only 38% of older adults are sufficiently active to meet the guidelines. The primary aim of this research was to conduct a feasibility study of the Move for Life i...

The UN Sustainable Development Goals' (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/) and the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (https://www.who.int/ncds/prevention/physical-activity/gappa) highlight the need to move beyond individual behaviour change to broader policy and system approaches, focusing not only on health but also on sustainability. Re...

Background Insufficient physical activity (PA) is a global issue for health. A multifaceted response, including government action, is essential to improve population levels of PA. The purpose of this study was to develop the ‘Physical Activity Environment Policy Index’ (PA-EPI) monitoring framework to assess government policies and actions for crea...

Background This review of reviews aims to summarize the evidence from published reviews on the effectiveness of mass-media campaigns to promote physical activity (PA), or PA-related determinants, and identify policy-relevant recommendations related to successful PA campaigns. Methods An extensive literature search was performed on March 1st, 2021....

Background Schools are ideally placed to provide children and adolescents with multiple opportunities to be or learn to be physically active. However, key reviews have reported that interventions to date have largely failed to have any long-term impact on overall physical activity levels. In this position paper, greater attention to key issues is n...

Background Physical activity contributes to the prevention of chronic illness as well as promotion of physical and mental health, but most adults remain inactive. Chronic illness affects mainly middle aged and older adults, and very little objectively measured data on physical activity behaviours and associated health outcomes of this population is...

Background A widespread dissemination of effective evidence-based physical activity (PA) interventions is needed whether a greater proportion of the population, who could potentially benefit from it, wants to be reached (Finch et al., 2016). ‘Sigue la Huella' (Follow the Footprint), is one of the few effective evidence-informed PA school-based inte...

Background Sport is recognised as a potential public health intervention through its influence on physical activity (PA) levels and consequent health benefits. International policy actors such as the Council of Europe, the World Health Organisation and the International Society for Physical Activity and Health have recommended that sport for all is...

Background There is strong evidence of the links between car-dependence and the global physical inactivity epidemic. If eliminated, physical inactivity would remove between 6% and 10% of major non-communicable diseases that are the leading cause of death globally, killing 38 million people each year. Research consistently shows that unlike passive...

Insufficient physical activity (PA) is one of major risk factors for serious diseases and premature mortality worldwide. Public policies to enhance PA across society are recognized as an effective tool against the problem. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive assessment of national-level PA policy approach in Poland. A standardized su...

Background The ‘MED-WELL’ programme is a combined exercise and educational intervention designed to promote well-being among medical students and educate students about prescribing exercise as medicine in clinical practice. Due to COVID-19 public health restrictions of social distancing the ‘MED-WELL’ programme was offered online instead of in-pers...

Aim Physical Activity (PA) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) both have positive effects on medical student well-being. The 'MED-WELL' programme is a curricular intervention that combines PA and education on exercise as medicine. This trial evaluates whether there is a mean difference in outcomes of participants of an exercise interventi...

Background Adolescents perceive different barriers for walking versus cycling to school. This study examined whether adolescents’ perceptions of walking and cycling differ by home-to-school distance. Methods Adolescents (n = 1,401; age: 15.1 ± 1.4 years; 55.1% females) completed an online survey about their school travel and perceptions of walking...

Introduction: Over 40 million deaths annually are due to noncommunicable diseases, 15 million of these are premature deaths and physical inactivity contributes an estimated 9% to this figure. Global responses have included the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA). Both point to policy action o...

Excessive school bag weight may be a modifiable barrier to active transport to school. This study examined correlates of school bag weight and adolescents’ perceptions of excessive school bag weight for walking and cycling to school among New Zealand adolescents living in diverse settlement types. Adolescents (n = 1512; 15.0 ± 1.3 years) completed...

Most adults do not meet physical activity guidelines with negative implications for health. The aim of this study was to profile adults using multiple physical activity behaviours and to investigate associations with chronic conditions, multi-morbidity and healthcare utilisation. The study used data generated from a sample of adults aged 45 years a...

Background. Low levels of physical activity (PA) in adolescents highlight the necessity for effective intervention. During adolescence, peer relationships can be a fundamental aspect of adopting and maintaining positive health behaviors. Aim. This review aims to determine peer-led strategies that showed promise to improve PA levels of adolescents....

Physical activity (PA) promotion is a complex challenge, with the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA) endorsing a systems approach and recommending countries assess existing areas of progress which can be strengthened. This paper reports a process facilitating a systems approach for identifying current good practice and gaps for promoti...

Background Over the past decade several physical activity (PA) interventions have been shown to be efficacious in a controlled research setting, however there is a continued lack of evidence for how to successfully implement these PA interventions in real-world settings such as the community. This review aims to explore the barriers and facilitator...

Despite well-known benefits of physical activity, in Ireland only 38% of older adults are sufficiently active. Behavioural interventions are rarely developed systematically and, when reported, inadequate description often becomes a barrier for subsequent replication and scalability. In this article, we describe the development and characteristics o...

This infographic 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...

Aim: This study compared accelerometer-measured physical activity (PA) patterns in adolescents living in diverse urban and rural areas of Otago, New Zealand. Method: Participants (n=377; age: 14.9±1.4 years; 66.8% female; 23 schools) completed an online school travel survey, anthropometry and seven-day PA accelerometer assessment. Participants r...

Introduction: Over 40 million deaths annually are due to noncommunicable diseases, 15 million of these are premature deaths and physical inactivity contributes an estimated 9% to this figure. Global responses have included the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA). Both point to policy action o...

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 a...

The need to transition away from the current car-dominated transport system is well documented in sustainability, health and transportation literatures. Despite growing interest in active and public transport modes, the car still dominates travel preferences for most age groups. There is, however, some evidence of declining preferences for car-base...

Purpose Despite the well-established health benefits of physical activity (PA) for young people (aged 4–19 years), most do not meet PA guidelines. Policies that support PA in schools may be promising, but their impact on PA behavior is poorly understood. The aim of this systematic review is to ascertain the level and type of evidence reported in th...

Introduction: Over 40 million deaths annually are due to noncommunicable diseases, 15 million of these are premature deaths and physical inactivity contributes an estimated 9% to this figure. Global responses have included the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA). Both point to policy action o...

Introduction: Physical inactivity among adults aged 50 years and over is a worldwide health concern. The objectives of the study were to investigate the perspectives of those involved with existing physical activity programmes on optimising recruitment, sustainability and scalability of physical activity programmes for adults aged 50 years and ove...

Despite calls in the literature, little is known about how dimensions of a social and task nature relate to each other in school and out-of-school learning environments. This study explored whether interpersonal and task dimensions of the youth sport environment, as perceived by young people, are related, and, if so, how they are related. We used d...

Introduction: Over 40 million deaths annually are due to noncommunicable diseases, 15 million of these are premature deaths and physical inactivity attributes an estimated 9% to this figure. Global responses have included the sustainable development goals and the global action plan on physical activity. Both point to policy action in physical activ...

Background Despite national-level initiatives to encourage active transport (AT) in New Zealand since 2005, rates of AT have continued to decline in most parts of the country, with negative impacts on health and the environment. This article describes the development of key policy recommendations for increasing AT in New Zealand. The goal was to es...

Background Home-to-school distances and the need for students to be driven to/from school may limit adolescents' physical activity levels. School choice and school zoning policies can influence rates of active transport to/from school, and traffic volumes during school commuting times. This study aimed to quantify the effects of adolescents' enrolm...

Background Epidemiological evidence has demonstrated that physical activity can have substantive health benefits for children and young people. The 'Policy Evaluation Network' is a multi-disciplinary research network across 7 European countries and New Zealand aimed at building capacity and evaluating the level of impact of policy interventions for...

Background: Medical School programme workloads challenge the physical and mental health of students particularly in compressed graduate entry programmes. There is evidence that physical activity (PA) can improve holistic care and help maintain wellness among medical students. We tested the feasibility of introducing an exercise programme to the me...

Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups are less likely to be physically active. Walking is important to public health, therefore understanding correlates of walking will inform the development of targeted interventions. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the correlates of walking among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults. PubMed/ME...

Background Parental perceptions towards different modes of transport correlate with adolescents’ mode choice for school trips. Whether parental attitudes differ for walking versus cycling and/or home-to-school distance is unknown. We compared parental perceptions of walking versus cycling to school in adolescents in Dunedin, New Zealand and examine...

Introduction In recent years, there has been growing interest in studies integrating social cognitive and environmental variables as predictors of active transport to school (ATS). However, a theoretical model of associations between children's ATS and these variables has not been well established. The aims of this study were (1) to develop and tes...

Introduction Natural experiments are considered a priority for examining causal associations between the built environment (BE) and physical activity (PA) because the randomised controlled trial design is rarely feasible. Few natural experiments have examined the effects of walking and cycling infrastructure on PA and active transport in adults, an...

Context: Socioeconomically disadvantaged adults have lower engagement in leisure-time physical activity than those who are more affluent. Identification of correlates of physical activity can inform the design of effective interventions. The aim of this systematic review was to identify consistent correlates of unspecified physical activity and le...

Background: Despite national-level efforts to encourage active transport in New Zealand since 2005, rates of active transport have continued to decline in most parts of the country, with negative impacts on health and the environment. / Purpose: We describe the development of key policy recommendations for active transport in New Zealand as an outc...

Background: There is overwhelming evidence to support the promotion of physical activity in adults in terms of benefits to well-being, physical and mental health. Physical activity guidelines suggest that adults should accumulate at least 150 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week. In Ireland, the majority of adults do not achieve...

Although policies and programs to support physical activity exist, they may not be accessed or utilized by individuals from socio-economically disadvantaged groups. This WellSpring highlights effective evidencebased approaches that can assist practitioners and decision-makers when designing and implementing physical activity policies and programs t...

Despite several studies examining the impact of school active transportation programming, there is limited understanding about undertaking the process of planning and evaluation from the perspective of community stakeholders. Most importantly, programming is rarely undertaken within an Indigenous context, which requires understanding of unique char...

Objectives: Adolescents using active transport (AT) to school have higher levels of physical activity (PA) compared with motorized transport (MT) users. This study compared school day and weekend day PA in adolescents using AT, MT, or combined AT and MT (AT + MT) to travel to school. Methods: Adolescents (n = 314; age: 14.7 ± 1.4 years; 32.8% bo...

School engagement during adolescence is an important personal asset for youth development. While multiple factors contribute to student engagement at school, research on the role of curricular factors is scarce. Based on a secondary analysis of data from Cycle 3 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, this study examined the asso...

Introduction The effectiveness of bicycle helmet use in preventing head injuries has been well documented. Mandatory helmet-use legislation is present in multiple countries including New Zealand. However, studies examining the correlates of adolescents' perception that they would cycle to school more often if helmet legislation was repealed are sca...

School engagement during adolescence is an important personal asset for youth development. While multiple factors contribute to student engagement at school, research on the role of curricular factors is scarce. Based on a secondary analysis of data from Cycle 3 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, this study examined the asso...

Background: Cycle skills training (CST) in a traffic free and light traffic environment is a promising approach to improve children's cycling-related skills and knowledge. This study examined the effects of short-term CST on children's cycling-related knowledge, confidence and behaviours. Methods: Children (n = 429; 11.0±0.9 years; 52.1% boys; 3 sc...

Background: Excessive school bag weight is a barrier to active transport to school (ATS). This study examined parents' and adolescents' perceptions of school bag weights and actual school bag weights for adolescents in New Zealand. Methods: Parents (n = 331; 76.7% women) completed a survey. Adolescents (n = 682; age 15.1 ± 1.4 years; 57.3% boys)...

Background During a 24-h day, each given period is spent in either sedentary behaviour, sleeping, light physical activity (LPA), or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). In epidemiological research most studies have traditionally analysed the associations of these behaviours in isolation from each other; that is, without taking into accoun...

Background: People from socioeconomically disadvantaged population groups are less likely to be physically active and more likely to experience adverse health outcomes than those who are less disadvantaged. In this umbrella review we examined across all age groups, (1) the effectiveness of interventions to improve physical activity among socioecon...

Engaging in physical activity (PA) on a regular and adequate basis generates considerable benefits for health. In developed countries, the time spent doing PA is decreasing, whilst sedentary time (ST) is increasing. A multicomponent school-based intervention programme, called ‘Sigue la Huella’ (Follow the Footprint), was developed to reduce sedenta...

Background: Cycle skills training (CST) improves children's cycling knowledge and skills. This study examined and compared the effects of short-term CST (1-10 weeks) with or without on-road training on cycling-related knowledge, confidence and behaviours in adolescent girls. Methods: Girls (n = 117; age: 13.9 ± 0.7 years) participated in either pla...

Background Low levels of physical activity and increased sedentary behaviour are two growing public health concerns both linked to chronic disease development. Active transportation, can contribute to achieving daily physical activity through the life-course. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between neighbourhood walkability...

New Zealand legislation removing school zones radically reshaped school choice, resulting in increased school stratification from parental choice frequently driven by social factors such as ethnic makeup of the school community. This article considers school choice through the eyes of 1,465 adolescents from 12 secondary schools in Dunedin (New Zeal...