Internet help encourages physical activity

People who spend a lot of time browsing the Internet may want to check out some fitness-related Websites. Internet-based exercise programmes work as well as printed advice in getting sedentary adults to take up regular physical activity, Health news reported.
Millions of sedentary workers could be reached through one of the modern conveniences blamed for keeping them chair-bound. If sedentary individuals are at least as likely as active individuals to use the Internet, this means roughly 80 million under-active adults are online and might be reached via Web-based interventions.
American researchers from the Brown University Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, did a study with 249 sedentary adults who were randomly assigned to one of three groups one group used a Website developed by the researchers to support participants' exercise efforts.
A second group was provided with links to six Websites run by professional medical and fitness organisations. The third group received printed materials by mail. Participants in all of the groups kept daily activity logs and completed questionnaires designed to keep them on track with their exercise regimens. The difference was that the group using the specially tailored Website got immediate email feedback.
One year later, it was found that all three groups were doing equally well. Those who used the tailored Website were getting an average of 90 minutes of exercise per week, as were men and women in the group that received help by mail.
Study participants who used a Website programme were getting 80 minutes of exercise per week, on an average. In general, experts recommend that adults get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, on most days of the week.
The use of tailored Internet, tailored print, and standard Internet as part of a behaviour change programme increased physical activity behaviour similarly. Because the use of the Internet was not different from the print-based intervention, this may be an opportunity to reach more sedentary adults in a more cost-effective way.