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 .
Physical activity intervention: a transtheoretical model-based intervention designed to help sedentary young adults become active.
Physical activity levels in young adults are low . Research supports the use of the Transtheoretical Model of behaviour change ( TM ) in design ing physical activity interventions . This study used a pre-post r and omized control design to investigate the effectiveness of a self-instructional intervention for helping sedentary young adults to initiate physical activity . Post-intervention , significantly more of the experimental group ( 80 % ) , in comparison to the control group ( 68 % ) , improved their exercise stage of change ( SOC ) from baseline ( P < 0.05 ) . Discriminant analyses revealed that discrimination between stage improvement/non-improvement was possible using the processes of change data . Stage improvers scored significantly higher on all of the behavioral and four out of five of the cognitive processes of change . For stage improvers , the processes of self-re-evaluation and self-liberation were most frequently used , whilst social liberation was used significantly more by the experimental than the control group . This inexpensive , self-instructional intervention , based on the TM and the ' active living message ' , is an effective method of assisting sedentary young adults to progress through the exercise SOC
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 .