Does having a buddy help women with young children increase physical activity? Lessons learned from a pilot study

ABSTRACT

A 12-week pilot controlled trial of a physical activity (PA) buddy program was designed for women with young children. Conducted in January 2015 through March 2016, 49 women (mean age = 36.4 ± 4.8 years) were randomized to one of two groups. Both conditions received an in-person session, weekly step goals based on their baseline number of steps, an accelerometer, and its mobile app. Only women assigned to the intervention group brought their buddies and exercised together at least once per week. Buddies also received an accelerometer and its mobile app. Among 47 women who completed the study, we found no significant difference between groups in changes in the mean number of daily steps for the prior week (p = 0.56). When women were categorized into three groups based on change in buddies’ PA, those with inactive buddies had significantly less change in number of steps than those with an active buddy and those in the control group (p < 0.018). Those with an active buddy also had higher friend social support scores for PA than the other two groups (p = 0.05). Thus, to improve PA, creating a social environment in which women associate with active individuals may be necessary.

KEYWORDS:

• Buddy
• physical activity
• social support

Acknowledgments

The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the AHA. We also thank Ji Hyeon Lee, MS, Kara Bellucci, BA, and the MoTHER Buddy Study participants.

Conflicts of Interest

None reported.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the American Heart Association [14CRP20010028].