There is strong evidence that community-based social support interventions for physical activity increase physical activity (CG-Physical activity, Hanson 2015, Schulz AJ, Israel BA, Mentz GB, et al. Effectiveness of a walking group intervention to promote physical activity and cardiovascular health in predominantly non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic urban neighborhoods: Findings from the Walk Your Heart to Health intervention. Health Education & Behavior. 2015;42(3):380-392.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Schulz 2015, Bock C, Jarczok MN, Litaker D. Community-based efforts to promote physical activity: A systematic review of interventions considering mode of delivery, study quality and population subgroups. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 2014;17(3):276-282.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Bock 2014, Kassavou 2013) and physical fitness among adults (CG-Physical activity, Hanson 2015). Such interventions have also been shown to provide health benefits such as reductions in indicators of cardiovascular risk, including reduced blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and total cholesterol (Hanson 2015, Schulz AJ, Israel BA, Mentz GB, et al. Effectiveness of a walking group intervention to promote physical activity and cardiovascular health in predominantly non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic urban neighborhoods: Findings from the Walk Your Heart to Health intervention. Health Education & Behavior. 2015;42(3):380-392.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Schulz 2015), and depression symptoms (Hanson 2015).

Social support for physical activity increases physical activity among older adults, especially when interventions include family support (Smith 2017a). Middle-aged women enrolled in a weight loss program are more likely to lose weight when they experience social support from friends and family (Kiernan 2012).

Community-based social support interventions for physical activity with a duration of at least 6 months are more effective than shorter interventions. Interventions that focus on older adults are more effective than those for younger adults (Kassavou 2013). Some studies suggest that such interventions are more effective when designed for both genders (Kassavou 2013), while others suggest that tailoring interventions for women increases effectiveness (Bock C, Jarczok MN, Litaker D. Community-based efforts to promote physical activity: A systematic review of interventions considering mode of delivery, study quality and population subgroups. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 2014;17(3):276-282.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Bock 2014). Interventions led by lay people appear as effective as those led by professionals (Kassavou 2013).

Community-based social support interventions have been shown to increase physical activity among adults in socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods (Schulz AJ, Israel BA, Mentz GB, et al. Effectiveness of a walking group intervention to promote physical activity and cardiovascular health in predominantly non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic urban neighborhoods: Findings from the Walk Your Heart to Health intervention. Health Education & Behavior. 2015;42(3):380-392.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Schulz 2015, Cleland CL, Tully MA, Kee F, Cupples ME. The effectiveness of physical activity interventions in socio-economically disadvantaged communities: A systematic review. Preventive Medicine. 2012;54(6):371-380.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Cleland 2012). Residents of low income communities with more physically active social networks are more likely to meet recommended physical activity guidelines than residents with less active social networks (Child S, Kaczynski AT, Moore S. Meeting physical activity guidelines: The role of personal networks among residents of low-income communities. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2017;53(3):385-391.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Child 2017). Interventions to increase perceptions of safety may increase participation in walking groups and other community-based social support interventions in socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods (Kwarteng JL, Schulz AJ, Mentz GB, et al. Does perceived safety modify the effectiveness of a walking-group intervention designed to promote physical activity? American Journal of Health Promotion. 2018;32(2):423-431.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Kwarteng 2018).

Overall, community-based social support interventions may not increase physical activity and physical fitness among adolescents (van Sluijs EMF, Kriemler S, McMinn AM. The effect of community and family interventions on young people’s physical activity levels: A review of reviews and updated systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2011;45(11):914-22.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)van Sluijs 2011) or children (Cleland CL, Tully MA, Kee F, Cupples ME. The effectiveness of physical activity interventions in socio-economically disadvantaged communities: A systematic review. Preventive Medicine. 2012;54(6):371-380.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Cleland 2012). However, adolescents with low levels of perceived social support from family and friends appear more likely to engage in unhealthy weight control behaviors than peers with higher levels of social support (Vander Wal JS. The relationship between body mass index and unhealthy weight control behaviors among adolescents: The role of family and peer social support. Economics & Human Biology. 2012;10(4):395–404.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Vander Wal 2012). Additional evidence is needed to determine effects on adolescents and children.

Community-based social support interventions for physical activity are considered cost effective (Roux L, Pratt M, Tengs TO, et al. Cost effectiveness of community-based physical activity interventions. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2008;35(6):578-88.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Roux 2008).