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Interventions to increase physical activity in middle-age women at the workplace: a randomized controlled trial
Ribeiro MA, Martins MA, Carvalho CRF
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2014 May;46(5):1008-1015
clinical trial
6/10 [Eligibility criteria: Yes; Random allocation: Yes; Concealed allocation: Yes; Baseline comparability: Yes; Blind subjects: No; Blind therapists: No; Blind assessors: No; Adequate follow-up: No; Intention-to-treat analysis: Yes; Between-group comparisons: Yes; Point estimates and variability: Yes. Note: Eligibility criteria item does not contribute to total score] *This score has been confirmed*

PURPOSE: A four-group randomized controlled trial evaluated the impact of distinct workplace interventions to increase the physical activity (PA) and to reduce anthropometric parameters in middle-age women. METHODS: One-hundred and ninety-five women age 40 to 50 yr who were employees from a university hospital and physically inactive at their leisure time were randomly assigned to one of four groups: minimal treatment comparator (MTC; n = 47), pedometer-based individual counseling (PedIC; n = 53), pedometer-based group counseling (PedGC; n = 48), and aerobic training (AT; n = 47). The outcomes were total number of steps (primary outcome), those performed at moderate intensity (>= 110 steps per minute), and weight and waist circumference (secondary outcomes). Evaluations were performed at baseline, at the end of a 3-month intervention, and 3 months after that. Data were presented as delta ((after 3 months-baseline) or (after 6 months-baseline)) and 95% confidence interval. To detect the differences among the groups, a one-way ANOVA and a Holm-Sidak post hoc test was used (p < 0.05). The Cohen effect size was calculated, and an intention-to-treat approach was performed. RESULTS: Only groups using pedometers (PedIC and PedGC) increased the total number of steps after 3 months (p < 0.05); however, the increase observed in PedGC group (1,475 steps per day) was even higher than that in PedIC (512 steps per day, p < 0.05) with larger effect size (1.4). The number of steps performed at moderate intensity also increased only in the PedGC group (845 steps per day, p < 0.05). No PA benefit was observed at 6 months. Women submitted to AT did not modify PA daily life activity but reduced anthropometric parameters after 3 and 6 months (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that in the workplace setting, pedometer-based PA intervention with counseling is effective increasing daily life number of steps, whereas AT is effective for weight loss.

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