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Can lay-led walking programmes increase physical activity in middle aged adults? A randomised controlled trial.
S E Lamb1, H P Bartlett, A Ashley
1Inter-disciplinary Research Centre in Health, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK. s.lamb@coventry.ac.uk
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
|March 16, 2002
Summary
Community-based health walks significantly increased moderate-intensity physical activity in adults who completed the trial. While intention-to-treat analysis showed no significant difference, completers in the health walks group were more active.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Exercise Science
- Cardiovascular Health
Background:
- Community-based physical activity interventions are crucial for public health.
- Middle-aged adults often have sedentary lifestyles, increasing cardiovascular risk.
- Lay-led walking schemes offer a scalable approach to promote exercise.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of health walks versus advice-only on physical activity and cardiovascular health.
- To assess the impact of a community-based walking scheme on middle-aged adults' health behaviors.
- To evaluate changes in physical activity levels and cardiovascular risk factors.
Main Methods:
- Randomized controlled trial with a one-year follow-up period.
- Participants (40-70 years) with low physical activity were randomized.
- Measures included physical activity questionnaires, attitudes to exercise, BMI, cholesterol, aerobic capacity, and blood pressure.
Main Results:
- Health walks increased moderate-intensity activity (>120 min/week) in 35.7% of completers versus 22.6% in the advice-only group (p=0.05).
- Intention-to-treat analysis showed a smaller, non-significant difference favoring health walks (6%).
- Improvements in aerobic capacity were observed, but no significant changes in other cardiovascular risk factors were found between groups.
Conclusions:
- Health walks demonstrated greater effectiveness than advice-only in increasing physical activity among trial completers.
- No significant differences in self-reported physical activity were found at 12 months using intention-to-treat analysis.
- Community-based walking schemes show promise for promoting sustained physical activity in middle-aged adults.