Long-term Effects of Varying Intensities and Formats of Physical Activity on Participation Rates, Fitness, and Lipoproteins in Men and Women Aged 50 to 65 Years

Abstract

While older adults can benefit from initiating a regular regimen of moderate-intensity exercise in terms of improved fitness levels and small improvements in HDL cholesterol levels, the time frame needed to achieve HDL cholesterol change (2 years) may be longer than that reported previously for younger populations. Frequency of participation may be particularly important for achieving such changes. Supervised home-based exercise regimens represent a safe, attractive alternative for achieving sustained participation.

Examination of print and telephone channels for physical activity promotion: Rationale, design, and baseline data from Project STRIDE

“…In prior studies it has been demonstrated that printbased materials that are individualized, motivationally tailored, and emphasize key social cognitive concepts such as self-efficacy and outcome expectations are effective tools for enhancing physical activity adoption [10,14]. Prior studies have also shown that telephonebased interventions emphasizing social cognitive concepts have demonstrated short-and longer-term efficacy [9,16,57,58]. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the relative efficacy of two different channels for delivering a computerized expert-system guided intervention (i.e., print vs. telephone) for physical activity as well as the relative cost of each intervention.…”

“…The use of such an expert system to guide program content is unique in the telephone delivery arena, and, if found to be effective, might expand such counseling to health interveners with less specific or formal training or education in the telephone counseling arena (given that the content for each call was structured using the compiled expert system information). Research indicates that both print and telephone-based physical activity interventions are efficacious (e.g., [9,60]); however, no study to our knowledge has examined both interventions within the same clinical trial. The telephone and print interventions included the same content but differed on a few factors related to the delivery channel.…”

“…To improve the efficacy of these interventions, researchers recommend that such interventions be grounded in psychological theories of behavior change [5]. Both Social Cognitive Theory [6] and the Transtheoretical Model [7] are two frameworks that have been used to guide physical activity interventions in community, workplace, and primary care settings, with promising results (e.g., [8][9][10]). The Stages of Motivational Readiness for Change Model posits that individuals move through a series of stages when making a behavior change [7].…”

“…For example, one study examining the efficacy of three exercise programs found that initially sedentary participants in the two telephone-delivered homebased programs reported a greater number of exercise minutes (averaging approximately 120-131 min/week) than participants in the group-based program (who averaged approximately 60 min/week) at 1 year [16]. These findings were generally maintained at 2 years [9]. Similarly, in a recently completed study evaluating telephone-based physical activity interventions delivered through either a health educator or a telephone-linked computer system, both telephone-based programs were shown to be able to significantly increase 12-month physical activity levels above the 150 min of moderate or more vigorous activity per week recommended in the 1996 Surgeon General's report [5,17].…”

Exercise intensity and insulin sensitivity: how low can you go?

“…While there are equivocal data regarding the influence of exercise intensity on adherence/compliance [36], it should be noted that the overwhelming barrier to regular exercise participation is lack of time [37]. This finding is ubiquitous; regardless of age, ethnicity, sex or health status, individuals report that a lack of time is the primary reason for their failure to exercise on a regular basis [38,39].…”