Motivating active lifestyle by low intensity exercises in the workplace

The promotion of physical activity is a great public health challenge. At least 17% of the world population over 15 years of age is sedentary, and between 31% and 51% perform insufficient levels of physical activity. The health benefits of regular physical activity are well known, particularly regarding the cardiovascular system. Despite this fact, the adoption and maintenance of active behavior is a difficult challenge. It has been suggested that low-intensity exercises may be the best way of engaging sedentary individuals in physical activity (Biddle & Mutrie, 2008). Health benefits, however, are only gained with higher intensity exercises. This approach is therefore based on two steps. During the first stage, physical activity should be easy in order for it to become a habit. Only then is exercise intensity increased so as to provide the necessary health benefits. Aiming at engaging individuals in active behavior, a low-intensity exercise program was offered to employees of a German telecommunication company. The program consisted of 20 minute classes offered at the workplace, 3 time a week during a period of 12 weeks. Assessments were performed before the start of the intervention, immediately after its terminus and on a 6-months follow up period. A group of 53 individuals volunteered to participate. The individuals were randomly allocated to the experimental or to the control group. The main focus of the study was to verify whether the participants were able to adopt an active lifestyle or to enhance their practice of physical activity after the completion of the program. The hypothesis was that the intervention program would be specially effective for the less active or chronically inactive individuals. The participants significantly increased their level of physical activity practice immediately after the intervention. This effect was verified in three different ways. First, the individuals increased from 2.6 days to 3.6 days a week the frequency they spent exercising. Second, they decreased in 43 minutes a day the time they spent in sitting positions. Finally, the intensity of physical activity practiced also increased (i.e. specific increases in moderate and vigorous activities were observed). In the long term (6 months after the end of the program), the participants continued to exercise significantly more (4.2 days a week) as compared to the pre-intervention levels. Less active individuals profited more from the exercise classes as compared to the participants that were already active before the start of the program. They showed higher increases in the frequency of physical activity performance (from 1.8 to 3.3 days a week), their self-motivation was positively correlated with the amount of exercising (r=0.79), and they practiced relatively higher levels of moderate and vigorous exercises six months after the completion of the intervention. These results confirm that low-intensity exercises offered in the workplace are effective in promoting active behavior. The effects of the intervention were particularly beneficial for those individuals who were sedentary or low active before the start of the program. Further studies with larger population sizes and longer follow up assessments are required in order to verify the extent of the findings here reported.