Moderators of Theory-Based Interventions to Promote Physical Activity in 77 Randomized Controlled Trials

A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has recently showed that theory-based interventions designed to promote physical activity (PA) significantly increased PA behavior. The objective of the present study was to investigate the moderators of the efficacy of these theory-based interv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health Education & Behavior 2017-04, Vol.44 (2), p.227-235
Main Authors: Bernard, Paquito, Carayol, Marion, Gourlan, Mathieu, Boiché, Julie, Romain, Ahmed Jérôme, Bortolon, Catherine, Lareyre, Olivier, Ninot, Gregory
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior Change
Exercise
Female
Health Behavior
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Intervention
Male
Meta Analysis
Middle Aged
Multivariate Analysis
Physical Activity Level
Program Effectiveness
Psychology
Randomized Controlled Trials
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic - statistics & numerical data
Regression (Statistics)
Review
Statistical Analysis
Theories
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Summary:A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has recently showed that theory-based interventions designed to promote physical activity (PA) significantly increased PA behavior. The objective of the present study was to investigate the moderators of the efficacy of these theory-based interventions. Seventy-seven RCTs evaluating theory-based interventions were systematically identified. Sample, intervention, methodology, and theory implementation characteristics were extracted, coded by three duos of independent investigators, and tested as moderators of interventions effect in a multiple–metaregression model. Three moderators were negatively associated with the efficacy of theory-based interventions on PA behavior: intervention length (≥14 weeks; β = -.22, p = .004), number of experimental patients (β = -.10, p = .002), and global methodological quality score (β = -.08, p = .04). Our findings suggest that the efficacy of theory-based interventions to promote PA could be overestimated consequently due to methodological weaknesses of RCTs and that interventions shorter than 14 weeks could maximize the increase of PA behavior.
ISSN:1090-1981
1552-6127
DOI:10.1177/1090198116648667