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Systematic Review
The authors state:
"This systematic review aimed to compare the effectiveness of remote and web 2.0 interventions for Physical Activity (PA) promotion in community dwelling adults (aged 16 years and above) with a control group exposed to placebo or no or minimal intervention."
The authors state:
"A total of 11 studies recruiting 5862 apparently healthy adults met the inclusion criteria. All of the studies took place in high‐income countries.
The effect of the interventions on cardiovascular fitness at one year (two studies; 444 participants) was positive and moderate with significant heterogeneity of the observed effects (SMD 0.40; 95% CI 0.04 to 0.76; high quality evidence).
The effect of the interventions on self‐reported PA at one year (nine studies; 4547 participants) was positive and moderate (SMD 0.20; 95% CI 0.11 to 0.28; moderate quality evidence) with heterogeneity (I2 = 37%) in the observed effects. When studies were stratified by risk of bias, the studies at low risk of bias (eight studies; 3403 participants) had an increased effect (SMD 0.28; 95% CI 0.16 to 0.40; moderate quality evidence).
The most effective interventions applied a tailored approach to the type of PA and used telephone contact to provide feedback and to support changes in PA levels.
There were no differences in effectiveness between studies using different types of professionals delivering the intervention (for example health professional, exercise specialist).
There was no difference in pooled estimates between studies that generated the prescribed PA using an automated computer programme versus a human, nor between studies that used pedometers as part of their intervention compared to studies that did not."
The authors state:
"We found consistent evidence to support the effectiveness of remote and web 2.0 interventions for promoting PA. These interventions have positive, moderate sized effects on increasing self‐reported PA and measured cardio‐respiratory fitness, at least at 12 months. The effectiveness of these interventions was supported by moderate and high quality studies. However, there continues to be a paucity of cost effectiveness data and studies that include participants from varying socioeconomic or ethnic groups. To better understand the independent effect of individual programme components, longer term studies, with at least one year follow‐up, are required."