A brief office intervention is associated with increased days per week of exercise.
OBJECTIVE
We hypothesized that a cardiologist-initiated motivational discussion during a routine general cardiology clinic visit that included an exercise 'contract' signed by the patient, physician and a witness, would increase self-reported days per week of exercise.


METHODS
A short-term pilot intervention was provided to forty consecutive general cardiology clinic patients who were enrolled in 2005. They were asked to answer the question "How many days each week do you exercise" prior to the motivational discussion and at routine follow-up. Each participant signed an exercise 'contract' and agreed to exercise for at least 15 min everyday.


RESULTS
Participants had an average follow-up of 3.2 (1.7) months. The initial visit mean days of exercise per week were 3.1 (1.9). At follow-up, mean days of exercise per week were 4.0 (1.8), (p=0.04).


CONCLUSIONS
This simple rapid intervention was associated with increased self-reported days per week of exercise.
Ostfeld
Robert Jonathan
RJ
Cheung
Yat Wa
YW
Saal
Ilana
I
Janis
Gregory
G
Cabeza
Yolanda
Y
Du
Yunling
Y
Smoller
Sylvia
S
Wylie-Rosett
Judith
J
D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010865:Pilot Projects