Effect of a 1-year intervention comprising brief counselling sessions and low-dose physical activity recommendations in Japanese adults, and retention of the effect at 2\xa0years: a randomized trial

Julien Tripette,Noriko Tanaka,Hiroshi Kawano,Motoyuki Iemitsu,Nobuyuki Miyatake,Kiyoshi Sanada,Ryoko Kawakami,Haruka Murakami,Kumpei Tanisawa,Kenta Yamamoto,Akie Morishita,Kana Konishi,Harumi Ohno,Yuko Gando,Motohiko Miyachi,Michiya Tanimoto

doi:10.1186/s13102-021-00360-7

Abstract

BackgroundIn an effort to increase people’s adherence to active lifestyles, contemporary physical activity (PA) guidelines now include low-dose PA.MethodsPA was evaluated in 583 participants of the Nutritional and Physical Activity Intervention Study (NEXIS) cohort (30–65 years old); 349 inactive participants (MVPA, 2.7 ± 1.0 MET-h/day) were randomly assigned to the intervention or control groups, and 235 active participants participated in follow-up visits. The intervention aimed to increase MVPA and comprised five brief counseling sessions over 1 year. The 1-year target for the participant was increasing their step-count to 10,000 steps/d or +3000 steps/d, relative to the baseline score. The counseling sessions were designed to stimulate progressive changes in physical behaviors by recommendations promoting small and/or light-intensity bouts of PA. PA was measured at baseline, the end of the intervention, and 1 year after the intervention ended. Additionally, several nutrition, health, and fitness parameters were measured.ResultsParticipants in the intervention group significantly increased their step-count from 8415 ± 1924 at baseline to 9493 ± 2575 at the end of the 1-year period. During the same period, MVPA significantly increased by 0.9 MET-h. The daily time spent in ≥ 3, ≥ 4 and ≥ 5 MET activities increased by 11, 6, and 3 min, respectively. This increase in PA remained observable 1 year after intervention concluded. The active group maintained higher physical activity levels throughout the two years. The intervention group showed smaller energy intakes at the end of the 2-year period. Significant correlations were noted between the 1-year change in MVPA and the change in resting heart rate (r = − 0.22), and between the 2-year change in MVPA and the change in waist circumference (r = − 0.08) and peak oxygen consumption capacity (r = 0.23) in the intervention group only.ConclusionsA prolonged and progressive PA intervention promoting small bouts of light-to-moderate PA may be used in healthy, not-optimally-active people to increase PA beyond the strict period of the intervention. Further studies are necessary to understand whether low-dose PA messages can be effective in initiating a progressive increase toward larger amounts of PA.Trial registration: Clinical Trials.gov, NCT00926744, retrospectively registered.

Highlights

Numerous studies have described insufficient physical activity (PA) as a risk factor for a wide range of non-communicable diseases, including heart diseases [1], diabetes mellitus [2], cancers [3], pulmonary diseases [4], and dementia [5]
The active group presented higher baseline values for stepcount; moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA); time spent in ≥ 3 Metabolic equivalent of task (MET), ≥ 4 MET, ≥ 5 MET, and ≥ 6 MET activities; and Moderate physical activity (MPA)
A significant interaction between group and time factors was noted for step-count, MVPA, and for the time spent in ≥ 3 MET, ≥ 4 MET, ≥ 5 MET, and ≥ 6 MET and sedentary activities and MPA

Summary

Introduction

Numerous studies have described insufficient physical activity (PA) as a risk factor for a wide range of non-communicable diseases, including heart diseases [1], diabetes mellitus [2], cancers [3], pulmonary diseases [4], and dementia [5]. In 2010, in an effort to address physical inactivity, the World Health Organization (WHO) released PA guidelines [7]. The ActiveGuide includes the “+10” topline message, which stands for “add 10 min of physical activity every day” and points toward several other low-dose PA recommendations. This original top message and content aims to keep the recommended amount of PA to a minimum to increase the chances of adherence, that is, removing barriers for people who may not have sufficient time or intrinsic motivation to engage in prolonged PA on a daily basis [9, 10]. In an effort to increase people’s adherence to active lifestyles, contemporary physical activity (PA) guidelines include low-dose PA

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Discussion

Conclusion