Influencing adherence to physical activity behaviour change in obese adults

Objective: Regular physical activity has beneficial health effects and aids weight management in obese adults, yet satisfactory adherence to physical activity behaviour change is rare. The primary objective was to summarise research evidence concerning influences on long-term physical activity behaviour change in obese adults. Secondary objectives were to scrutinise study quality, and to present recommendations for future research in terms of study design and research areas. Design: Narrative review. Papers were identified from a comprehensive electronic and manual literature search, and included/excluded according to set inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data from included studies was extracted and summarised. Results: Negative influences were social physique anxiety, unrealistic activity messages, and low motivation. Positive influences included social support, activity self-monitoring, increased activity-specific self-efficacy, moderate intensity activities (40-70% of V02-max), moderate activity volumes (2-3 hours/week), short-bout sessions (10-15 minutes) with treadmill access, and home-based physical activity. However, limited strength and volume of evidence or inconclusive findings reduced our confidence in several purported influences. Conclusions: Many factors appear to influence adherence to physical activity behaviour change in obese adults. Although information on influences is accumulating, more research is still needed on how to provide best therapeutic support for this challenging task.