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 .
Design of the sex hormones and physical exercise (SHAPE) study
Background Physical activity has been associated with a decreased risk for breast cancer . The biological mechanismn(s ) underlying the association between physical activity and breast cancer is not clear . Most prominent hypothesis is that physical activity may protect against breast cancer through reduced lifetime exposure to endogenous hormones either direct , or indirect by preventing overweight and abdominal adiposity . In order to get more insight in the causal pathway between physical activity and breast cancer risk , we design ed the Sex Hormones and Physical Exercise ( SHAPE ) study . Purpose of SHAPE study is to examine the effects of a 1-year moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise programme on endogenous hormone levels associated with breast cancer among sedentary postmenopausal women and whether the amount of total body fat or abdominal fat mediates the effects . Methods / Design In the SHAPE study , 189 sedentary postmenopausal women , aged 50–69 years , are r and omly allocated to an intervention or a control group . The intervention consists of an 1-year moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic and strenght training exercise programme . Partcipants allocated to the control group are requested to retain their habitual exercise pattern . Primary study parameters measured at baseline , at four months and at 12 months are : serum concentrations of endogenous estrogens , endogenous and rogens , sex hormone binding globuline and insuline . Other study parameters include : amount of total and abdominal fat , weight , BMI , body fat distribution , physical fitness , blood pressure and lifestyle factors . Discussion This study will contribute to the body of evidence relating physical activity and breast cancer risk and will provide insight into possible mechanisms through which physical activity might be associated with reduced risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women . Trial registration
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 .