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 .
Supervised versus Recommended Physical Exercise in Hypertensive Women. Is its Recommendation Enough?
Objective : The aim of this study is to evaluate , in women with grade 1 essential hypertension , the response of cardio-respiratory and blood pressure ( BP ) after 6 weeks of supervised physical exercise ( PE ) vs only recommended exercise . Methods : Eighteen consecutive hypertensive women whose BP control was stable were assigned r and omly into two exercise groups . Group A including nine patients in an aerobic PE programme supervised by a physiotherapist , aged ( mean ± SD ) 35.5 ± 5.5 years old . Group B , nine patients aged 37.7 ± 7.2 years old , received only oral and written instructions about the benefits of aerobic PE for controlling BP . We used a treadmill for walking to observe the cardio-respiratory and BP response at the beginning and at the end of the period of exercise training , and the response in all the patients , and to test whether there were any differences between the two groups . Results : There were significant differences in cardio-respiratory parameters in group A , in basal VO2/kg post- vs pre-rehabilitation 27.6 ± 5.1 vs 23.1 ± 4.6 , change 4.4 ± 2 ; O2 pulse 10.9 ± 0.9 vs 10.4 ± 1.6 , varied 0.5 ± 0.1 ; furthermore we observed heart rate 73.3 ± 12.37 vs 86.6 ± 12.8 , change −13.4 ± 12.1 and metabolic equivalents of oxygen 9 ± 1.2 vs 6.6 ± 2.7 , change 2.5 ± 1.6 , while in BP in group A , the differences were 153.1 ± 7.1 vs 148.8 ± 13.6 , change −6.3 ± 0.7 mm/g , p < 0.01 between pre- and post-rehabilitation . There were also significant differences between pre- and post-rehabilitation in group A in systolic BP 153 ± 7.3 vs 135.1 ± 16 , change −18.1 ± 4.1 , p < 0.001 and diastolic BP 92.6 ± 10.1 vs 83.5 ± 9.1 , change −9 ± 4 , p < 0.05 ; no change in group B. Finally , an improvement was observed in pulse pressure post-rehabilitation in group A 61.4 ± 15.2 vs 51.6 ± 11.4 , change −9.8 ± 3.9 vs group B 59.4 ± 11.2 vs 59.3 ± 10.6 , only −0.1 ± 0.8 , p < 0.001 . Conclusions : These results suggest that supervised PE  in hypertensive women  significantly improves cardio-respiratory and BP values , as well as vascular adaptability
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 .