A physical activity coaching intervention can increase and maintain physical activity and health-related outcomes in adult ambulatory care patients in a regional hospital: the Healthy4U-2 randomised controlled trial
Abstract Background: The Healthy 4U-2 study sought to evaluate the effect of a twelve-week, physical activity (PA) coaching intervention for changes and maintenance in PA, anthropometrics and health-related outcomes in adults presenting to an ambulatory hospital clinic.Methods: One hundred and twenty insufficiently active adults were recruited from an ambulatory hospital clinic and randomised to an intervention group that received an education session and five 20-minute telephone sessions of PA coaching, or to a control group that received the education session only. ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers were used to measure moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) at baseline, post-intervention (3 months) and follow-up (9 months). Secondary outcome measures (anthropometrics, PA self-efficacy, health-related and quality of life) were also assessed at the three time points.Results: At baseline, the mean age and body mass index of participants were 53 ± 8 years and 31 ± 4 kg/m2, respectively. Relative to control, the intervention group increased objectively measured MVPA at post-intervention (p<0.001) and 9 months follow-up (p<0.001). At the 9-month follow-up the intervention group completed 22 min/day of MVPA (95% CI: 20 to 25 min/day), which is sufficient to meet the recommended PA guidelines. The intervention group exhibited beneficial changes in body mass (p<0.001), waist circumference (p<0.001), body mass index (p<0.001), PA self-efficacy (p<0.001), and health-related quality of life (p<0.001) at the 9-month follow-up.Conclusions: This study demonstrates that a low contact PA coaching intervention results in beneficial changes in PA, anthropometrics and health-related outcomes in insufficiently active adults presenting to an ambulatory care clinic. The significant beneficial changes were measured at post-intervention and the 9-month follow-up, demonstrating a maintenance effect of the intervention. Trial registration: Prospectively registered on the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR). Trial registration number: ACTRN12619000036112. http://anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=376318