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 .
Prevention of diabetes mellitus in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study: results from a randomized clinical trial.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing worldwide largely as a result from increasing obesity and sedentary lifestyle . The Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study ( DPS ) is the first individually r and omized controlled clinical trial to test the feasibility and efficacy of lifestyle modification in high-risk subjects . We r and omly assigned 522 ( 172 men , 350 women ) middle-aged ( mean age 55 yr ) , overweight ( mean body mass index 31 kg/m(2 ) ) subjects with impaired glucose tolerance either to the lifestyle intervention or control group .  Each subject in the intervention group received individualized counseling aim ed at reducing weight and intake of total and saturated fat , and increasing intake of fiber and physical activity . An oral glucose tolerance test was performed annually to detect incident cases of diabetes and to measure changes in metabolic parameters . The mean ( + /- SD ) weight reduction from baseline to year 1 and to year 2 , respectively , was 4.2 + /- 5.1 kg and 3.5 + /- 5.5 in the intervention group and 0.8 + /- 3.7 kg and 0.8 + /- 4.4 in the control group ( P < 0.001 between the groups ) . At the time of first analysis of the outcome data the mean duration of follow-up was 3.2 yr . The risk of diabetes was reduced by 58 % ( P < 0.001 ) in the intervention group compared with the control group . The reduction in the incidence of diabetes was directly associated with number and magnitude of lifestyle changes made . In conclusion , the DPS is the first controlled trial demonstrating that type 2 diabetes can be prevented by changes in lifestyle in high-risk subjects
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 .