Programmes may help obese adults move more; confidence rose only a little.

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   The review covers 58 studies of obese adults, about 49 years old on average. Most of the people were women, and each comparison averaged about 181 people.

2. 02

   What they did

   Programmes used about 10 ways to change behaviour, such as goal setting and tracking progress. The other groups used almost none.

3. 03

   What happened

   Programmes raised physical activity by a medium amount, and confidence by a small amount. The two changes did not match up across the different techniques. Planning when and where to act tended to go with bigger gains in confidence.

What the review found

1. HelpedGoals

   Across 42 comparisons, programmes helped obese adults move more.

   Pooled analysis of 42 studies · vs people who got nothing, or were checked before and after · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited; mixes trials with other kinds of study

2. HelpedMotivation

   Across 61 comparisons, programmes made obese adults a bit more sure they were able to move.

   Pooled analysis of 61 studies · vs people who got nothing, or were checked before and after · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited; mixes trials with other kinds of study

3. HelpedGoals

   Across 7 comparisons, programmes that taught people to use reminders or cues tended to get them to move more.

   • Rule: Get a remindertested
   • Rule: Put a visible cue where you'll do ittested

   Pooled analysis of 7 studies with 2,112 people · vs programmes that did not teach reminders or cues · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited; mixes trials with other kinds of study

4. HelpedMotivation

   Across 12 comparisons, programmes that had people plan when and where to act tended to give them more confidence.

   • Rule: Write down when and wheretested

   Pooled analysis of 12 studies with 1,563 people · vs programmes that did not plan when and where · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited; mixes trials with other kinds of study

Source