• Genevieve Fridlund Dunton and Trina P Robertson.
• Health Promotion Research Branch, Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20852, USA.
• Prev Med. 2008 Dec 1; 47 (6): 605-11.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of an individually tailored, Internet-plus-email physical activity intervention designed for adult women.MethodHealthy and ethnically-diverse adult females (N=156) (mean age=42.8 years, 65% Caucasian) from California were randomly assigned to an intervention (access to a tailored website and weekly emails) or wait-list control group. Participants completed web-based assessments of physical activity, stage of behavior change, and psychosocial variables at baseline, one month, two months, and three months. Data were collected during 2006-2007. Multilevel random coefficient modeling examined group differences in rates of change.ResultsAs compared to the control condition, the intervention group increased walking (+69 versus +32 min per week) and total moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (+23 versus -25 min per week) after three months. The intervention did not impact stage of behavior change or any of the other psychosocial variables.ConclusionA tailored, Internet-based intervention for adult women had a positive effect on walking and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in an ethnically-diverse sample. However, given the lack of comparable research contact in the control group, these findings should be taken cautiously.

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