Dose–response effect of walking exercise on weight loss. How much is enough?

Abstract

Our study showed no dose-response effect of walking exercise on weight loss over diet alone. Both lower and higher volume metabolic fitness prescriptions resulted in similar and significant beneficial changes in several HRV. This data suggests that 30 min of walking on most days of the week may be as beneficial as 60 min (in combination with diet) in promoting numerous additional healthful outcomes over diet alone following a 12 week weight loss program.

Pedometer Step Counts Predict Cardiac Risk Factors at Entry to Cardiac Rehabilitation

“…6 Several specific cardiovascular disease risk factors are inversely related to walking distance. [7][8][9] In particular, greater walking is associated with improved lipids, 10 weight loss, 10,11 weight loss maintenance, 12,13 lower blood pressure (BP), [14][15][16] higher levels of fitness, 17 and positive changes in psychosocial measures. 17 Treadmill walking is an integral component of cardiac rehabilitation (CR).…”

Walk-Run Transition Speed Training as an Efficient Exercise Adjunct to Dietary Restriction in the Management of Obesity: A Prospective Intervention Pilot Study

“…Studies have demonstrated that generally an increase in physical activity combined with RD improves the lipid profile compared with RD alone or physical activity alone [45,46]. Although our participants did not present any metabolic related disorders at baseline, we observed significant improvements in lipid profiles.…”

“…Obes Facts 2011;4: [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] Obesity and Physical Activity 51 they had met their goal, while those who did not lose enough weight may have left because they were dissatisfied with their progress. Thus, it is important to undertake corrective measures to increase the likelihood of completion in such longterm studies.…”

“…Dietary intervention associated with weight loss reduces mainly the mass of TG-rich very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles as well as the mass of LDL and large buoyant LDL particles [47]. The only potential mechanism through which exercise could affect LDL-C and HDL-C metabolism is by promoting fat utilization as a substrate and thereby creating a physiologic state conductive to enhance lipid metabolism [45,46,48]. It is well documented that gait transition from walking to running increases the rate of energy expenditure (EE) [23,49].…”

Current Trends in Weight Management: What Advice Do We Give to Patients?

“…This study also found that 30 minutes of daily walking (equaling about 12 miles/week) prevents weight gain in most sedentary people and that any additional exercise can lead to the loss of weight and body fat. However, in another study by Bond Brill et al 49 there was no dose-response effect. Thirty minutes of walking most days of the week was as beneficial as 60 minutes, and neither 30 nor 60 minutes of walking resulted in a significantly greater amount of weight loss than diet alone.…”