Adherence
Structured physical activity counseling interventions (assistance and counseling) significantly improve cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) in inactive women compared to standard physician advice, but do not improve fitness in inactive men.
If you are a woman, structured counseling from a health educator (even with just ~3 hours of contact over 2 years) can significantly boost your heart health compared to just being told to exercise by your doctor. If you are a man, basic advice might be just as effective as intensive counseling for improving fitness, so focus on the activity itself rather than the counseling format.
For women, the assistance and the counseling interventions were similar in significantly increasing cardiorespiratory fitness... For men, neither of the 2 counseling interventions was more effective than recommended care.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with 24-month follow-up, large sample size (n=874), and objective outcome measures (VO2max), though self-reported activity was not significantly different.
Source
Effects of Physical Activity Counseling in Primary Care: The Activity Counseling Trial: A Randomized Controlled Trial
The Writing Group for the Activity Counseling Trial Research Group et al. · JAMA · 2001
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