A health educator retrained the seniors to attribute their lack of exercise to things within their control such as attitude, knowledge about how to exercise, or having an exercise buddy.

After each retraining session participants underwent an hour's worth of strength, endurance and flexibility training, Sarkisian and colleagues report in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Seven weeks after the start of the program, pedometer-measured steps had increased an equivalent of 2.5 miles.

Moreover, all 46 of the participants said the program was enjoyable and improved their mood, 61 percent reported a decrease in their average daily pain, 85 percent said their energy level improved, and 54 percent indicated they slept better.

The participants also had increased expectations for their age and improved quality of life scores, the investigators note.

Sarkisian and colleagues hope to further corroborate the efficacy of attribution retraining in an ongoing study involving a greater number of older adults. They are also planning an additional pilot study in a group of octogenarians.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, November 2007.

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