In collaboration with former University of Alabama at Birmingham doctoral student Dr. Rodney Joseph (currently with Arizona State University), Dr. Dorothy W. Pekmezi, assistant professor in UAB’s department of health behavior — along with Dr. Nefertiti H. Durant, assistant professor in UAB’s department of pediatrics — recently provided a comprehensive review of Internet– and website–based physical activity interventions targeting adult populations.

[Photo: Dr. Rodney Joseph and Dr. Dorothy W. Pekmezi]

Search procedures identified 72 unique Internet-based physical activity interventions published in peer-reviewed journals. Participants of the studies were predominantly White, middle-aged (with a mean age of 43.3), and female (65.9 percent). Intervention durations ranged from two weeks to 13 months (with a median of 12 weeks). Forty-six of the studies were randomized controlled trials, 21 were randomized trials without a control condition, two were non–randomized controlled trials, and three used a single-group design.

A total of 68 studies assessed outcomes immediately following the end of the intervention period, and 16 studies provided delayed post-intervention assessments. Forty-four of the 72 studies (61.1 percent) reported significant increases in physical activity.

The team concluded that future directions for Internet-based physical activity interventions include increasing representation of minority and male populations in Internet-based efforts, conducting delayed post-intervention follow-up assessments, and incorporating emerging technologies (i.e., cellular and Smartphones) into Internet-based physical activity efforts.

“Internet-Based Physical Activity Interventions” was published earlier this year in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.

Journal article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25045343?dopt=Abstract