Effects of supervised and unsupervised physical activity programmes for weight loss

Physical activity is important for weight management. However, it remains unclear what type of physical activity prescription/programme is optimal for increasing physical activity during a standard behavioural weight loss intervention. This study examined changes in physical activity after a 12-week supervised programme prescribed in minutes per week (SUP-PA), an unsupervised programme prescribed in minutes per week (UNSUP-PA) and an unsupervised programme prescribed in steps per day (STEP).

Fifty-two adults who were overweight or obese (age: 43.5 ± 10.1 years, BMI: 31.5 ± 3.5 kg·m^-2) were randomized to STEP (n = 18), UNSUP-PA (n = 17) and SUP-PA (n = 17). Subjects attended weekly in-person group intervention sessions and were prescribed a calorie-restricted diet (1,200-1,800 kcals·day^-1) combined with increased physical activity (150 min·week^-1 or 10,000 steps·day^-1 with 2,500 brisk steps·day^-1).

All three groups significantly increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (STEP: 80.6 ± 218.5 min·week^-1, UNSUP-PA: 112.9 ± 180.4 min·week^-1 and SUP-PA: 151.1 ± 174.0 min·week^-1, p < 0.001) with no differences between groups (p = 0.94) or group by time interaction (p = 0.81). In addition, there were no significant differences in weight loss between the groups (p = 0.81).

In this short-term study, all three physical activity programmes increased physical activity and elicited modest weight loss when combined with a standard behavioural weight loss intervention.