A conference on physical activity sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in August 1991 recommended that one priority area for research should be the development and evaluation of interventions for adoption and maintenance of physical activity including interventions that can be incorporated into primary care practice. The 1992 NHLBI Working Group Report on Primary Prevention of Hypertension identified physical inactivity as a risk factor for hypertension. Intervention research applicable to health-care settings is particularly important in light of national recommendations advising health-care professionals to intervene, including Healthy People 2000, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reports, and the American Heart Association.