The heterogeneity in reported effects was reduced in higher quality studies , when physical activity was self-directed with some professional guidance and when there was on-going professional support .
Our review suggests that physical activity interventions have a moderate effect on self reported physical activity and cardio-respiratory fitness , but not on achieving a predetermined level of physical activity .
Due to the clinical and statistical heterogeneity of the studies , only limited conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of individual components of the interventions .
BACKGROUND Little is known about the effectiveness of strategies to enable people to achieve an increase in their physical activity .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of interventions for promoting physical activity in adults aged 16 years and older , not living in an institution .
Effects of a computer-based, telephone-counseling system on physical activity.
BACKGROUND There is increasing interest in developing interventions to promote physical activity ( PA ) that do not involve face-to-face contact with health professionals . We developed a fully automated PA counseling system ( telephone-linked communication , TLC-PA ) that was delivered via telephone . DESIGN A r and omized , controlled trial with 298 adult , sedentary members ( mean age , 45.9 years ; 72 % women ; 45 % white ; and 45 % African American ) of a multi-site medical practice . The comparison group ( TLC-Eat ) received an automated intervention promoting healthy eating , which was also delivered via telephone . INTERVENTION The TLC-PA promoted moderate-intensity PA ( MI-PA ) based on the transtheoretical model of behavior change and social cognitive theory . The system was available to participants for 6 months . MAIN OUTCOMES Energy expenditure in MI-PA , proportion of participants who met recommendations for MI-PA , and motivational readiness for PA . MEASURES Self-reports of PA behavior and motivational readiness at baseline , 3 months , and 6 months . RESULTS At 3 months , intention-to-treat analyses showed that the TLC-PA group was more likely to meet recommendations for MI- or vigorous-intensity PA ( VI-PA ) compared to the TLC-Eat group ( TLC-PA=26 % vs TLC-Eat=19.6 % , p=0.04 ) . Among study completers , TLC-PA subjects reported significantly higher daily kilocalorie energy expenditure in MI-PA ( 2.3 kcal/kg/d vs 2.0 kcal/kg/d , p=0.02 ) ; a larger proportion met recommendations for MI- or VI-PA ( 31.2 % vs 21.3 % , p=0.02 ) and were in more advanced stages of motivational readiness than TLC-Eat subjects ( TLC-PA=52.5 % vs TLC-Eat=42.2 % , p=0.04 ) . Results were not maintained at 6 months . The proportion of TLC-PA users decreased significantly over the intervention period . CONCLUSIONS A fully automated counseling system had positive short-term effects on PA among sedentary adults . Lack of maintenance of effects may be due to a decrease in the number of participants who continued to use the system
The heterogeneity in reported effects was reduced in higher quality studies , when physical activity was self-directed with some professional guidance and when there was on-going professional support .
Our review suggests that physical activity interventions have a moderate effect on self reported physical activity and cardio-respiratory fitness , but not on achieving a predetermined level of physical activity .
Due to the clinical and statistical heterogeneity of the studies , only limited conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of individual components of the interventions .
BACKGROUND Little is known about the effectiveness of strategies to enable people to achieve an increase in their physical activity .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of interventions for promoting physical activity in adults aged 16 years and older , not living in an institution .