Effects of a health education intervention on physical activity in individuals with moderate-to-high cardiovascular risk

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of a health education and counseling intervention program, in a primary healthcare setting, on daily physical activity (PA) in individuals with moderate-to-high risk of cardiovascular disease. This was a parallel-group study with a 4-month-long intervention, plus 8 months of follow-up. Participants were 164 individuals with moderate-to-high cardiovascular risk, allocated to either an intervention (IC, n=87) or a control group (CG, n=77). The intervention consisted by 3 walking and face-to-face group sessions plus text messages. The primary outcome was daily PA measured by sedentary time, light and moderate-to-vigorous PA. After the intervention (4 months) and follow-up (8 months) periods, the results show significant differences between Groups (IC, CG) for sedentary time and light PA, but not for moderate-to-vigorous PA. No significant changes were found for the variable Time (baseline, 4 months, 8 months) and for the correspondent interaction between Groups and Time, even after adjustments for age, gender, BMI, and variables that were different between groups at baseline. The health education and counseling program did not improve daily PA of participants with moderate-to-high cardiovascular risk.