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 .
Tailored Print Communication and Telephone Motivational Interviewing Are Equally Successful in Improving Multiple Lifestyle Behaviors in a Randomized Controlled Trial
Background Computer tailoring and motivational interviewing show promise in promoting lifestyle change , despite few head-to-head comparative studies . Purpose Vitalum is a r and omized controlled trial in which the efficacy of these methods was compared in changing physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption in middle-aged Dutch adults . Methods Participants ( n = 1,629 ) were recruited via 23 general practice s and r and omly received either four tailored print letters , four motivational telephone calls , two of each type of intervention , or no information . The primary outcomes were absolute change in self-reported physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption . Results All three intervention groups ( i.e. , the tailored letters , the motivational calls , and the combined version ) were equally and significantly more effective than the control group in increasing physical activity ( hours/day ) , intake of fruit ( servings/day ) , and consumption of vegetables ( grams/day ) from baseline to the intermediate measurement ( week 25 ) , follow-up 1 ( week 47 ) and 2 ( week 73 ) . Effect sizes ( Cohen ’s d ) ranged from 0.15 to 0.18 . Participants rated the interventions positively ; interviews were more positively evaluated than letters . Conclusions Tailored print communication and telephone motivational interviewing or their combination are equally successful in changing multiple behaviors
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 .