There was no evidence for a relationship between intervention effectiveness and mode of delivery or number of intervention contacts ; however , interventions which involved individually tailoring with personalized activity goals or provision of information about local opportunities in the environment may be more effective .
Conclusions Interventions in adults aged 55 to 70 years led to long term improvements in physical activity at 12 months ; however , maintenance beyond this is unclear .
Identified physical activity improvements are likely to have substantial health benefits in reducing the risk of age-related illnesses .
Background Retirement represents a major transitional life stage in middle to older age .
Changes in physical activity typically accompany this transition , which has significant consequences for health and well-being .
The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence for the effect of interventions to promote physical activity in adults aged 55 to 70 years , focusing on studies that reported long-term effectiveness .
Social support and the likelihood of maintaining and improving levels of physical activity: the Whitehall II Study
Background : Evidence on the association between social support and  leisure time physical activity ( LTPA ) is scarce and mostly based on cross-sectional data with different types of social support collapsed into a single index . The aim of this study was to investigate whether social support from the closest person was associated with LTPA . Methods : Prospect i ve cohort study of 5395 adults ( mean age 55.7 years , 3864 men ) participating in the British Whitehall II study .  Confiding/emotional support and practical support  were assessed at baseline in 1997–99 using the Close Persons Question naire .  LTPA was assessed at baseline and follow-up in ( 2002–04 ) . Baseline covariates included socio-demographics , self-rated health , long-st and ing illnesses , physical functioning and common mental disorders . Results : Among participants who reported recommended levels of LTPA at baseline , those who experienced high confiding/emotional support were more likely to report recommended levels of LTPA at follow-up [ odds ratio ( OR ) : 1.39 , 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) : 1.12–1.70 in a model adjusted for baseline covariates ] . Among those participants who did not meet the recommended target of LTPA at baseline , high confiding/emotional support was not associated with improvement in activity levels . High practical support was associated with both maintaining ( OR : 1.34 , 95 % CI : 1.10–1.63 ) and improving ( OR : 1.25 , 95 % CI : 1.02–1.53 ) LTPA levels . Conclusion : These findings suggest that emotional and practical support from the closest person may help the individual to maintain the recommended level of LTPA . Practical support also predicted a change towards a more active lifestyle
There was no evidence for a relationship between intervention effectiveness and mode of delivery or number of intervention contacts ; however , interventions which involved individually tailoring with personalized activity goals or provision of information about local opportunities in the environment may be more effective .
Conclusions Interventions in adults aged 55 to 70 years led to long term improvements in physical activity at 12 months ; however , maintenance beyond this is unclear .
Identified physical activity improvements are likely to have substantial health benefits in reducing the risk of age-related illnesses .
Background Retirement represents a major transitional life stage in middle to older age .
Changes in physical activity typically accompany this transition , which has significant consequences for health and well-being .
The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence for the effect of interventions to promote physical activity in adults aged 55 to 70 years , focusing on studies that reported long-term effectiveness .