Plans for when and where may help adults be a little more active

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   Adults with average ages from 18 to 64, in 26 studies: 789 people at the end and 2,749 later on. Eleven studies used students, eight used patients, and seven used the general population.

2. 02

   What they did

   People in one group made plans for when, where and how to act, or if-then plans for what to do about obstacles. Other groups filled in a questionnaire, got usual care or got another treatment. People were checked again one to 46 weeks later, with no contact in between.

3. 03

   What happened

   People were more active than the other groups straight after the plans, and still later on, by a small to medium amount. Most studies only looked at people who finished, and twelve used questions that had not been checked. Extra findings for students, patients and obstacle plans were less certain, and the paper's counts do not quite agree.

What the review found

1. Helped

   Across nine studies, if-then plans and plans for when and where helped adults exercise more than the other group did.

   • Action: Make an if-then plan for your obstacletested
   • Rule: Write down when and wheretested

   Pooled analysis of 9 studies with 789 people · vs people given another treatment, usual care or a questionnaire · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

2. Helped

   Across 19 studies, the plans still helped people exercise more, up to 46 weeks after they ended.

   • Action: Make an if-then plan for your obstacletested
   • Rule: Write down when and wheretested

   Pooled analysis of 19 studies with 2,749 people · vs people given another treatment, usual care or a questionnaire · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

Source