Adherence
Interventions targeting physical activity in aging adults (mean age ≥60) produce a small but statistically significant positive effect on activity levels (dw = .26).
For older adults, simply being told the health benefits of exercise (health education) is not enough to drive significant behavior change. To effectively increase physical activity, interventions should focus on active strategies: recommend moderate-intensity activity, use center-based exercise settings, deliver the program in groups, and require participants to self-monitor their activity. These active components yield significantly larger improvements than passive education alone.
The overall effect size, weighted by sample size, was dw = .26 ± .05. Thus, the null hypothesis that interventions designed to increase activity do not affect activity among older adults can be rejected.
Why this rating
Meta-analysis of 43 studies with 33,090 participants provides high statistical power, though effect sizes are small.
Source
Interventions to increase physical activity among aging adults: A meta-analysis
Vicki S. Conn et al. · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · 2002
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