Randomized Clinical Trial of the Women's Lifestyle Physical Activity Program for African-American Women: 24- and...

To compare the effects of a physical activity (PA) intervention of group meetings versus group meetings supplemented by personal calls or automated calls on the adoption and maintenance of PA and on weight stability among African-American women.

Randomized clinical trial with three conditions randomly assigned across six sites.

Health settings in predominately African-American communities.

There were 288 women, aged 40 to 65, without major signs/symptoms of pulmonary/cardiovascular disease.

Six group meetings delivered over 48 weeks with either 11 personal motivational calls, 11 automated motivational messages, or no calls between meetings.

Measures included PA (questionnaires, accelerometer, aerobic fitness), weight, and body composition at baseline, 24 weeks, and 48 weeks.

Analysis of variance and mixed models.

Retention was 90% at 48 weeks. Adherence to PA increased significantly (p < .001) for questionnaire (d = .56, 128 min/wk), accelerometer (d = .37, 830 steps/d), and aerobic fitness (d = .41, 7 steps/2 min) at 24 weeks and was maintained at 48 weeks (p < .001), with no differences across conditions. Weight and body composition showed no significant changes over the course of the study.

Group meetings are a powerful intervention for increasing PA and preventing weight gain and may not need to be supplemented with telephone calls, which add costs and complexity.