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 .
The long and winding road to physical activity maintenance.
OBJECTIVES To build upon state-of-the-art theory and empirical data to estimate the strength of multiple mediators of the efficacious Keep Active Minnesota ( KAM ) physical activity ( PA ) maintenance intervention . METHODS The total , direct , and indirect effects through which  KAM helped r and omized participants ( KAM n = 523 ; UC n = 526 ) maintain moderate or vigorous PA ( MVPA ) for up to 2 years were estimated using structural equation modeling . RESULTS Multiple mediators explained half ( beta = .052 , P = .13 ) of the effect of KAM on MVPA ( beta = .105 , P = .004 ) . Self-efficacy was the upstream variable in 2 endogenously mediated effects , and the self-concept mediator emerged as the strongest predictor of MVPA . CONCLUSIONS KAM positively impacted self-efficacy , which was associated with PA enjoyment , integration into the self-concept , and PA maintenance . Successful long-term PA maintenance appears to be influenced by multiple small interrelated mediational pathways . Future research evaluating maintenance models should specify recursive relationships among mediators and outcomes
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 .