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 .
Exercise enhances the maintenance of smoking cessation in women.
We examined the effects of physical exercise on  smoking relapse . Twenty previously sedentary female smokers were r and omly assigned to smoking cessation plus exercise or smoking cessation with frequency contact control . The smoking cessation program included 12 professionally led sessions over 12 weeks . Exercise treatment included three supervised exercise sessions per week for 15 weeks . Contact control included three women 's health/wellness lectures per week for 15 weeks . Smoking abstinence was vali date d by carbon monoxide and saliva cotinine . Mean exercise attendance for exercise subjects was 88 % with an increase in estimated VO2 of 25 % . The percentage of subjects who quit for 24 hours was 80 % for the exercise and 90 % for the contact group . One subject in the contact group remained abstinent at the end of the 12-week treatment and at 1- , 3- , and 12-month follow-ups , whereas three subjects in the exercise group were abstinent at these time points . These results suggest that exercise training improves short-term quit rates and may prove a useful strategy for long-term maintenance of smoking cessation
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 .