Effectiveness of a community-based exercise training programme to increase physical activity level in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A randomized controlled trial.

Background And Purpose: The exercise training included in pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programmes improves exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nevertheless, the duration of these effects is limited, and the implementation of PR is still insufficient. Moreover, the physical activity level of COPD patients is low, and it is not modified with the classic PR programmes.