Samenvatting

The consequences of cardiovascular diseases are substantial and include increasing
numbers of morbidity and mortality. With a population getting more and more inactive and
having a sedentary lifestyle, the risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes rises.
This dissertation reports on people with one or more cardiovascular risk factor(s) and who
are having an inactive lifestyle, and how healthcare professionals can encourage these
people at risk to become and stay physically active in a way that cardiovascular fitness is
improved. The assumption is that if an intervention can reduce the prevalence of risk
factors, it can also reduce the prevalence of disease. When cardiovascular fitness improves
and a person is capable of keeping a physically active lifestyle, levels and number of
cardiovascular risk factors can decrease in a population.