Accumulating brisk walking for fitness, cardiovascular risk, and psychological health

Abstract

These findings suggest that three short bouts (10 min) of brisk walking accumulated throughout the day are at least as effective as one continuous bout of equal total duration in reducing cardiovascular risk and improving aspects of mood in previously sedentary individuals.

The effects of 60 minutes of brisk walking per week, accumulated in two different patterns, on cardiovascular risk

“…Because the study sought to examine the physiological effects of the exercise prescription, as opposed to whether the prescription was behaviourally/ecologically valid, the intention-to-treat principle was not employed. Compliance was defined as completing at least 60% of prescribed sessions [7] and, as a result, two subjects were excluded (1 single-bout walker, 1 accumulated-bout walker). Data are therefore presented for 32 subjects (17 women) who completed the study.…”

“…As the subjects in the present study were normotensive at baseline it was unlikely that significant decreases in BP would occur. In walking studies which have used individuals with BP b129/84 mm Hg, the majority have reported non-significant changes in systolic BP or diastolic BP [7,9,10,13,34,[39][40][41]. Exercise training generally results in BP lowering following exercise which is greater in hypertensive patients than in normotensive subjects [42].…”

“…It requires no special skills or facilities and is achievable by virtually all groups with little injury risk [3]. The favourable effects of walking on both physiological and psychological well being are firmly established [4][5][6][7]. As walking is a dlifestyleT activity it may more easily circumvent frequently cited barriers to exercise, such as lack of time and the belief that one is dnot the sporty typeT [8], than other forms of exercise.…”

“…Much research concerning walking interventions has assessed the effects of training typically 4 or 5 days per week for 30-60 min [7,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. However, to the authors' knowledge, only one study has examined the efficacy of walking at the minimum ACSM * recommendations, that is, 20 min on 3 days of the week [18].…”

Lifestyle-Based Physical Activity Intervention for One Year Improves Metabolic Syndrome in Overweight Male Employees

“…Several pedometer-based interventions have resulted in significant improvements in weight or body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and other risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Gray et al 2009;Pal et al 2009;Freak-Poli et al 2011). Furthermore, the earlier studies demonstrated that even short bouts of brisk walking of 10 minutes (min) accumulated throughout the day are at least as effective as one continuous bout (30 min) of a similar level of activity in improving cardiovascular risk, lipid profiles, fasting plasma insulin and cardiorespiratory fitness (Donnelly et al 2000;Moreau et al 2001;Murphy et al 2002). Consequently, recent guidelines, based on this evidence, recommend that moderate to vigorous physical activity should be performed in bouts lasting 10 min (Haskell et al 2007;World Health Organization 2012).…”