Effectiveness of the physical activity promotion programme on the quality of life and the cardiopulmonary function for inactive people: Randomized controlled trial

A total of 100 subjects of both genders participated in the randomized controlled trial with systematic random sampling; all were aged 55 and older, from Torremolinos, Spain. Participants either received (n？=？50) the PAPP for 60？minutes, twice a week during three months or (n？=？50) they received health education. The effectiveness of the intervention was measured by general state of health the Short Form 12 health survey questionnaire, and the quality of life was determined with the EuroQoL-5D questionnaire. Cardiopulmonary function was measured with a spirometry and a walking test according to the Bruce protocol.This pilot study had a significant impact on the quality of life (p？=？0.05) in men, which increased. However, the quality of life in women did not improve. The average changes in the lung and cardiovascular function was not significant between groups.Changes in the quality of life measured with EQ-5D in the group of men who carried out the PAPP were statistically significant when comparing between groups. However changes in cardiopulmonary function were not as relevant when comparing between groups. There was a significant effect within each group in the pulmonary outcomes of values in men, within the experimental group.Developed by the University of Málaga. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01172483.Prospective observational studies have suggested that inactive people have more death risk due to no specific cause and from specific diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and others) associated with physical inactivity [1]. There is evidence that regular physical activity contributes to the primary and secondary prevention of several chronic diseases and is associated with a reduced risk of premature death [2].Health-related quality of life is an important measure of the effect of an intervention program on cardiovascular disease [3]. There are studies in inactive people which have observed a decrease in lung function [4]. Forced expiratory volume