MacMillan et al. BMC Public Health 2011, 11:120 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/11/120 from the study during the screening process will aid the design of future physical activity interventions in older adults. Acknowledgements Project funding was received from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish government (reference number: CZH/4/457). Dr Macdonald and Karen Black were funded by the Scottish Primary Care Research Network and NHS Research and Development. We wish to thank Buckingham Terrace Medical Practice and the Clinical Research Facility in the Western Infirmary for providing rooms for study appointments. We would also like to acknowledge Avril Blamey for reviewing early drafts of this manuscript and Adam Evans for his role as research assistant in the early stages of the project. Author details 1School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Jordanhill Campus, 76 Southbrae Drive, Glasgow, G13 1PP, UK. 2School of Health, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, G4 0BA, UK. 3Robertson Centre for Biostatistics, University of Glasgow, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK. 4Public Health and Health Policy, University of Glasgow, 1 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, G12 8RZ, UK. Authors’ contributions FM CF and NM led the drafting and editing of the manuscript. KB provided primary care expertise to make the protocol feasible in a general practice setting. CF, MHG, PMG, MG, HM, AM, DR, RS, DS and NM were involved in the original application and design of the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Professor Malcolm Granat is a co inventor of the activity monitor and a director of PAL Technologies Ltd, Glasgow UK. 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