Feasibility and acceptance of exercise recommendations (10,000 steps a day) within routine German health check (Check-Up 35/GOÄ29)—study protocol

Abstract

BackgroundBenefits of exercise to prevent non-communicable diseases are well-documented. Limited data exists to promote physical activity in healthy but sedentary and/or overweight people. Brief interventions within routine German health checks may be an effective way to reach these patients.Methods/designThe quasi-experimental, multi-center prospective feasibility study is designed for general practices in Cologne (intervention group) and Düsseldorf (control group), up to 20 per region. Eight to 10 inactive and/or overweight patients per practice will be recruited for a total of 300. General practitioners and at least one of their nurses for the intervention group will be trained in motivational interviewing and familiarized with low-threshold recommendations for exercise (activities of daily life (ADL), target of 10,000 steps/day) and additional tools (pedometers, activity diaries). Participants in the control group will only receive general advice (150 min of exercise/week). The primary aims are to evaluate the feasibility of this intervention and to determine whether it is possible to reach a mean increase of 1000 steps/day in the target group within 6 months. Secondary objectives focus on the number of patients who reach a target of 10,000 steps/day and their improvements in quality of life and decrease in body mass index, waist circumference, and blood pressure.DiscussionThe study will assess whether it is feasible to run brief interventions within the GP setting can promote an active lifestyle in overweight and/or inactive patients.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40814-016-0092-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Physical activity and sedentary behaviour in the Middle East and North Africa: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analysis

“…Objectively measured PA using accelerometer, pedometer or continuous heart rate monitor can avoid recall bias and is practical for use particularly among youth when compared to self-reported data 100 . However, the minimum number of steps measured by the pedometer required for health benefits is still debatable [101][102][103][104] and no significance of the heterogeneity in PA prevalence estimates within the group; the p-value of the Cochran's Q between-subgroups statistic is used to inform about the statistical significance of the heterogeneity in PA prevalence estimates between the results of subgroups if applicable; the I 2 is used to assess the magnitude of between-study variation that is due to differences in PA prevalence estimates across studies rather than chance; the prediction interval is used to estimate the 95% interval in which the true PA prevalence in a new PA prevalence study will lie. p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.…”

“…The most basic dimensions of PA assessment are frequency, intensity, time (duration), and type of activities 100 . Currently, no single tool can adequately assess all these dimensions 101 . A combination of self-reported measures (to capture important domain-and behaviour-specific sedentary time information) and device-based measures (to measure both total sedentary time and patterns of sedentary time accumulation) is recommended 99,110 .…”

Does the use of step counting devices affect the level of physical activity and body mass index of the youth studying in Lublin during COVID-19 pandemic?

“…Tedesco et al made a significant remark that even though the activity trackers were quite accurate in counting steps but underestimated calories so clinicians should be cautious in considering other parameters provided by these devices for clinical or research purposes [18]. Graf et al showed in her study that as simple intervention as encouraging patients by family doctors for reaching the target of 10,000 steps per day improves their life quality, decreases BMI, waist circumference, and blood pressure [19]. According to Kalbarczyk who collected their data in 2011-2013 in a group of 1677 participants >55 years of age, men are more often vigorously active than women in Poland.…”

How to manage quarantine—adherence, psychosocial consequences, coping strategies and lifestyle of patients with COVID-19 and their confirmed contacts: study protocol of the CoCo-Fakt surveillance study, Cologne, Germany

“…Lifestyle: sedentary behaviour, physical activity and relaxation will be recorded before and during the quarantine period as well as nutrition, including alcohol and nicotine consumption (modified according to Ref. 28 ). Based on the type of sport and intensity, an average baseline metabolic unit (MET) value for the activities will be derived based on the compendium by Ainsworth et al .…”