Interventions to promote walking: systematic review

Assesses the effects of interventions to promote walking in individuals and populations. Uses published and unpublished reports in any language identified by searching 25 electronic databases, by searching websites, reference lists, and existing systematic reviews, and by contacting experts. ystematic search for and appraisal ofcontrolled before and after studies of the effects of anytype of intervention on how much people walk, thedistribution of effects on walking between social groups,and any associated effects on overall physical activity,fitness, risk factors for disease, health, and wellbeing. We included 19 randomised controlled trials and29 non-randomised controlled studies. Interventionstailored to people's needs, targeted at the most sedentaryor at those most motivated to change, and deliveredeither at the level of the individual (brief advice,supported use of pedometers, telecommunications) orhousehold (individualised marketing) or through groups,can encourage people to walk more, although thesustainability, generalisability, and clinical benefits ofmany of these approaches are uncertain. Evidence for theeffectiveness of interventions applied to workplaces, schools, communities, or areas typically depends onisolated studies or subgroup analysis. The most successful interventions could increase walking among targeted participants by up to 30-60 minutes a week on average, at least in the short term. From a perspective of improving population health, much of the research currently provides evidence of efficacy rather than effectiveness. Nevertheless, interventions to promote walking could contribute substantially towards increasing the activity levels of themost sedentary.