Systematic review of interventions to promote physical activity from a psychological perspective

Interventions to promote adherence to physical activity: A systematic review from a psychological perspective. Interventions to promote physical activity (PA) are interesting alternatives to other specific treatments to improve health, even though not all of them are based on psychological theories, which would favor adherence and maintenance of such habit. The aim of this study was to systematically review research conducted in the last ten years, including studies conducted in Spanish-speaking populations, on the effectiveness of psychological interventions to promote adherence to PA. The searches were made in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Redalyc, ScienceDirect and Scielo. Of the 491 articles found, 12 met the selected criteria. All, except one, reported improvements in psychological variables, with eight demonstrating significant increases in levels of PA. Only six studies included long-term followup. It is possible to promote PA through psychological interventions, however, the scarcity of studies with Spanish-speaking populations and the variability of methods used suggest the need for further research on the subject.