Research
Adherence
Walking group interventions delivered by lay people are as effective as those delivered by professionals.
You don't need a professional to lead your walking group. Lay people, with basic training, can effectively lead walking groups and achieve similar results to professional-led groups.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Interventions delivered by a lay person had a similar effect size (d = 0.52, 95%CI from 0.25 to 0.79, n = 2843, k = 8, p < 0.0001) to interventions delivered by professionals (d = 0.51, 95%CI from 0.23 to 0.79, n = 1729, k = 11, p < 0.0001). The difference in effect size estimates was not statistically significant (z = 0.158, N = 4572, p = 0.43).
Why this rating
No statistically significant difference found, supporting the equivalence claim.
Source
Do interventions to promote walking in groups increase physical activity? A meta-analysis
Aikaterini Kassavou et al. · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · 2013
DOI 10.1186/1479-5868-10-18
Meta-analysis · 19 studiesCited 195×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Interventions promoting walking in groups significantly increase physical activity in adults, with a medium overall effect size (d = 0.52).Good
- Walking group interventions targeting both genders are more effective at increasing physical activity than those targeting only women.Good
- Walking group interventions targeting older adults (>61 years) are more effective at increasing physical activity than those targeting younger adults (≤60 years).Good
Related findings · Adherence
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- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
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