Awareness of and changing perceptions of physical activity guidelines among delegates at the Australian Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport.

Health and exercise professionals have an important role to play in the promotion of physical activity (PA), in that they can provide PA advice to their patients and clients. In order for them to do this, they must be aware of, and understand, current PA guidelines and messages. This study aimed to compare levels of awareness and understanding of the moderate PA message among delegates at the 1999 Australian Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport (ACSMS) with those of delegates at the 2007 ACSMS.

Randomized trial of a neighborhood environment-focused physical activity website intervention.

Objective: To evaluate the use of a local neighborhood environment-focused physical activity website and its effects on walking and overall physical activity in middle-aged adults.

Method: One-hundred and six (72% women) inactive adults aged 52+/-4.6 years were randomly allocated to receive access to a neighborhood environment-focused website, (Neighborhood group, n=52) or a motivational-information website (Comparison group n=54).

Website physical activity interventions: preferences of potential users.

Information and communication technologies (particularly websites and e-mail) have the potential to deliver health behavior change programs to large numbers of adults at low cost. Controlled trials using these new media to promote physical activity have produced mixed results. User-centered development methods can assist in understanding the preferences of potential participants for website functions and content, and may lead to more effective programs.