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The marked disparity in life expectancy between men and women suggests men are a vulnerable group requiring targeted health promotion programs. As such, there is an increasing need for health promotion strategies that effectively engage men with their health and/or illness management. Programs that promote physical activity could significantly improve the health of men. Although George et al. (Sports Med 42(3):281, ) reviewed physical activity programs involving adult males published between 1990 and 2010, developments in men's health have prompted the emergence of new sex- and gender-specific approaches targeting men. The purpose of this review was to: (1) extend and update the review undertaken by George et al. (Sports Med 42(3):281, ) concerning the effectiveness of physical activity programs in males, and (2) evaluate the integration of gender-specific influences in the content, design, and delivery of men's health promotion programs. A search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and the SPORTDiscus databases for articles published between January 2010 and August 2014 was conducted. In total, 35 studies, involving evaluations of 31 programs, were identified. Findings revealed that a variety of techniques and modes of delivery could effectively promote physical activity among men. Though the majority of programs were offered exclusively to men, 12 programs explicitly integrated gender-related influences in male-specific programs in ways that recognized men's interests and preferences. Innovations in male-only programs that focus on masculine ideals and gender influences to engage men in increasing their physical activity hold potential for informing strategies to promote other areas of men's health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical inactivity is one of the main modifiable risk factors for a range of noncommunicable diseases. Of particular interest are adult males, a hard-to-reach population group for health promotion interventions. The purpose of this review is to provide a critical evaluation of the published health-related physical activity interventions that have targeted adult males. A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, CINAHL®, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and SPORTDiscus™ was conducted for intervention studies published in English, between January 1990 and August 2010. Studies including community-dwelling adult men (⩾18 years), or including both males and females where data on male participants could be extracted and examined, were included in this review. Studies assessing changes in levels of physical activity, physical fitness or changes in biomarkers of disease risk relevant to physical activity (e.g. body weight, waist circumference, lipids, blood pressure) were the primary focus. A total of 14 studies focusing on physical activity only and nine combined physical activity and nutrition studies were also included in this review. Ten of the 14 physical activity only studies and four of the nine combined physical activity and nutrition studies demonstrated significant increases in physical activity outcomes. Face-to-face, group-based and print-based methods were most commonly employed in these interventions. Within each mode of delivery, a number of elements including regular feedback, access to self-monitoring tools, elements of social support, variety in activities and a degree of friendly competition, were revealed as positive inclusions for this population group. Males are generally under-represented in health-promotion interventions and should therefore be targeted specifically, and while results of the included studies are encouraging, there is a lack of intervention studies targeting adult males. Further research into this population group is therefore required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]