Walking is the most common and preferred form of physical activity...but, up to 80% of adults in the United States report that they walk only 10 minutes at a time at least one day of the week. How do you encourage people to walk more and enjoy the health benefits of this inexpensive form of exercise? According to a review in the supplement of the July issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, intensive interventions, such as telephone reminders and prescriptions for walking, can increased walking behavior.

Researchers from Brown Medical School analyzed 14 randomized controlled trials of interventions evaluating walking behavior. They found that intensive interventions, such as telephone reminders and prescriptions to walk 5 to 7 days a week, could increase walking behavior during follow-up periods as long as ten years. The researchers noted that, while mass media campaigns have been effective in increasing knowledge and awareness about the benefits of physical activity, they often fail to change individual behaviors. The researchers suggested that combining mass media campaigns with individually-tailored programs might be an important next step for increasing walking behavior, with a tremendous positive impact on the public health.