Group habit meetings made daily brisk walks feel more automatic, still two years later
Who it’s about: Adults, People with a health condition
- Helped
Group meetings on a daily brisk walk made walking feel more automatic than tip sheets did, still two years later.
- Rule: Every daytested
- Rule: Anchor it to an old habittested
- Action: Go for a walkused
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
Randomised trial of 618 adults with metabolic syndrome in the US · vs a Fitbit, monthly tip sheets and phone calls · they rated themselves
- No difference
The same programme made pausing before reacting feel no more automatic than a Fitbit and tip sheets did.
- Rule: Every daytested
- Rule: Anchor it to an old habittested
- Action: Pause before reactingused
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
Randomised trial of 618 adults with metabolic syndrome in the US · vs a Fitbit, monthly tip sheets and phone calls · they rated themselves
The study
Who took part
618 adults with metabolic syndrome from five US regions, about 55 on average; 468 were women. 306 joined the habit programme and 312 joined the other group.
What they did
The habit group had 19 group meetings of 90 minutes over 6 months, then optional monthly meetings for 18 months. They built four habits, each done on a daily cue. The habits were vegetables at meals, a brisk walk, noticing smells and tastes, and a pause before reacting. The other group got a Fitbit, monthly tip sheets and a phone call every 3 months.
What happened
Brisk walks felt more automatic in the habit group at 6 months and at two years. The habit group took about 5,400 steps a day against 4,300 at 6 months, and 4,800 against 4,200 at two years. Vegetables at meals felt more automatic only at 6 months, and the other two habits never differed. At two years, 28 in 100 no longer had metabolic syndrome, against 21 in 100.
Source
Lifestyle Intervention for Sustained Remission of Metabolic Syndrome (2025)
DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.5900 (opens in a new tab)
