Increasing Physical Activity in Black Women: Results from a Randomized Trial Conducted in Faith-Based Settings

The Learning and Developing Individual Exercise Skills (L.A.D.I.E.S.) for a Better Life study compared a faith-integrated (FI) and a secular (SEC) intervention for increasing physical activity with a self-guided (SG) control group among African American women.

L.A.D.I.E.S. was a cluster randomized, controlled trial. Churches (n=31) were randomized and women within each church (n=12 - 15) received the same intervention.

FI and SEC participants received 24 group-based sessions, delivered over 10 months. SG participants received printed materials to review independently for 10 months. Participants were followed for 12-months post-intervention to assess long-term intervention impact.

Data on participant characteristics, physical activity, and intervention-related constructs were collected at baseline, 10 months, and 22 months.

Intervention session attendance was greater for FI compared with SEC participants (15.7 + 5.7 vs 12.4 + 7.3 sessions, respectively, P<.01). After 10 months, FI and SEC participants significantly increased daily walking (+1,451 and +1,107 steps/day, respectively) compared with SG participants (-128 steps/day). Increases were maintained after 22 months in the FI group compared with the SG group (+1092 vs. +336 daily steps, P<.01). Between-group changes in accelerometer-assessed physical activity were not statistically significant at any time point.

The FI intervention is a feasible strategy for short- and long-term increases in physical activity among African American women. Additional dissemination and evaluation of the strategy could be useful for reducing chronic disease in this high-risk population.