Activity programmes worked, and planning when and where went with bigger gains

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   This review pooled 27 studies of healthy adults, about 43 on average. Most people were women. Studies of children, students, people with health problems and people over 60 were left out.

2. 02

   What they did

   Most programmes were about walking or gardening, and 19 were one-to-one while 8 were in groups. A researcher or health professional most often ran them. The review sorted each programme's methods into a list of 39.

3. 03

   What happened

   Programmes got people more active and more confident in their ability to be active. Those with a plan for when and where did better on both, though that rested on only four study groups. Programmes that planned how to avoid slipping back, or set harder tasks step by step, had smaller gains on both.

What the review found

1. HelpedGoals

   Across 27 studies, programmes got people to be more active than the other groups.

   Pooled analysis of 36 studies with 6,446 people · vs groups that got nothing extra · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited; mixes trials with other kinds of study

2. HelpedMotivation

   Across 36 groups, programmes made people feel more confident about being active than the other groups did.

   Pooled analysis of 36 studies with 6,429 people · vs groups that got nothing extra · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited; mixes trials with other kinds of study

3. HelpedGoals

   Programmes that had a plan for when and where to be active got people to do more activity.

   • Rule: Write down when and wheretested

   Pooled analysis of 4 studies with 541 people · vs the same programmes without a plan · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited; mixes trials with other kinds of study

4. HelpedMotivation

   Programmes that had a plan for when and where to be active made people more confident in their ability.

   • Rule: Write down when and wheretested

   Pooled analysis of 4 studies with 532 people · vs the same programmes without a plan · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited; mixes trials with other kinds of study

Source