Archived Research:
On motivating people to exercise

There is certainly no question that exercise is crucial for good health, and evidence continues to accumulate on the myriad ways exercise can help older adults live longer, healthier lives and avoid chronic diseases. Yet all the evidence in the world is useless if older adults simply choose not to exercise. A key, growing area of research is aimed at finding ways to motivate older adults to not only begin exercising, but to stick to their fitness plan.

A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that primary care physicians can be an important motivating tool for their patients. The study compared fitness levels of two gropus of patients over the age of 65. One group was given a specific prescription for exercise from their doctor, including guidelines on frequency, intensity, and length of workout and instructions on measuring heart rate. The second group was merely advised to get regular exercise. After six months, the specific recommendation group had improved fitness levels by 11%, and 17% after a year. The control group, on the other hand, improved only 4% and 3% during those same time periods. The researchers believe the results show that specific, clear instructions from a doctor can help motivate patients.

Another study, run by researchers from the University of Missouri, found that regularly reminding older women to exercise through weekly telephone calls or mailings prompted those women to add 37 minutes of exercise per week to their schedules, whereas women who participated in the study but did not receive reminders increased their exercise by only 12 minutes per week. All women also attended three motivational meetings, which researchers found to be ineffective in increasing physical activity among participants.

On the other hand, another study tested cognitive-behavioral counseling to help older adults incorporate physical activity into their lives and found it to be effective. In the year-long trial, 147 men and women with heart disease were assigned to either traditional exercise therapy-three months of regular exercise sessions and short lectures on avoiding further heart disease-or a cognitive/behavioral group therapy intervention combined with the same exercises, but stretched out over a nine-month period. Patients in the counseling intervention were taught motivational strategies and the use of pedometers, and also received phone and mail contact from instructors. Although both groups of patients ultimately received the same number of hours of contact with instructors-36, the amount normally covered by insurance for cardiac rehabilitation-a year after the study began the counseling group was more fit and exercising more frequently.

Although researchers are beginning to identify interventions that could help older adults incorporate more physical activity into their lives, obstacles remain. Where older adults live can have a significant effect on their physical activity levels-older adults who can walk to shops or parks spend much more time walking than those who do not. Even the usual admonition to visit a doctor before exercising can also be a barrier, as it implies that exercising could somehow be dangerous. Researchers will continue to work to find new ways of encouraging older adults to get moving, hopefully eventually making sendentary older persons the exception rather than the rule.