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 .
Efficacy of an individualized, motivationally-tailored physical activity intervention
This study compared the efficacy of two low-cost interventions for physical activity adoption . Sedentary ( N=194 ) adults recruited through newspaper advertisements were r and omized to receive either a motivationally-matched , individually-tailored intervention ( IT ) or a st and ard self-help intervention ( ST ) . Assessment s and interventions were delivered by repeated mailings at baseline , one , three , and six months . Participants were assessed regarding current physical activity behavior , motivational readiness to adopt regular physical activity , and psychological constructs associated with physical activity participation ( e.g. self-efficacy , decisional balance ) . Repeated measures analyses of variance ( ANOVAs ) revealed significant increases in physical activity participation between baseline and six months for both groups with a significantly greater increase among IT participants . The IT group outperformed the ST group on all primary outcome measures : ( a ) minutes of physical activity per week , ( b ) reaching Centers for Disease Control and American College of Sports Medicine ( CDC/ACSM ) recommended minimum physical activity criteria , and ( c ) achieving the Action stage of motivational readiness for physical activity adoption . Both groups showed significant improvement between baseline and six months on the psychological constructs associated with physical activity adoption ( e.g. self-efficacy ) , with no significant differences observed between the treatment groups . Utilizing computer expert systems and self-help manuals to provide individually-tailored , motivationally-matched interventions appears to be an effective , low-cost approach for enhancing physical activity participation in the community
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 .