The Effects of Exclusive Walking on Lipids and Lipoproteins in Women with Overweight and Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the effects of walking, independent of diet and weight-loss, on lipids and lipoproteins in women with overweight and obesity. Data Source Academic Search Complete, Alternative Health Watch, Global Health, Health Source, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, SportDiscus, and ProQuest. Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria (1) experiment-control design; (2) women with overweight or obesity; (3) walking as the experiment’s independent variable; (4) four or more weeks; and (5) pre- to post-assessment of lipids and/or lipoproteins. Excluded studies reported use of lipid-lowering medication, diet or other modes of physical activity, and alternative interventions as the control. Data Extraction Data extraction and study quality were completed by the first 2 authors using the Cochrane review protocol and risk of bias assessment. Data Synthesis Raw mean difference between the experiment and control groups using a random effects model. Results Meta-analyses of 21 interventions (N = 1129) demonstrated exclusive walking improves total cholesterol (raw mean difference = 6.67 mg/dL, P = .04) and low-density lipoproteins (raw mean difference = 7.38 mg/dL, P = .04). Greater improvement in total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins, and low-density lipoproteins existed in women with obesity. Conclusions Exclusive walking aids in normalizing total cholesterol and LDLs in women with overweight and obesity. Exclusive walking can be used as a non-pharmacologic therapy, which may have positive clinical outcomes for individuals who especially struggle with diet and weight-reduction.

Do neighbourhood traffic-related air pollution and socio-economic status moderate the associations of the neighbourhood physical environment with cognitive function? Findings from the AusDiab study

“…In general, these findings are in line with those of previous studies on environmental correlates of physical activity (Cerin et al, 2017;Van Cauwenberg et al, 2018) and sedentary behaviours (Barnett et al, 2015;Cerin et al, 2020), and those on the effects of these behaviours on cardiometabolic health (Bai et al, 2022;Ballard et al, 2021;Chai et al, 2023;Wood et al, 2022).…”

“…The concept of neighbourhood walkability was coined by urban planners to denote urban spaces with higher levels of density, functional mix and access networks that lend themselves to a variety of transport modes and reduce car-dependence (Frank et al, 2010). As expected, and evidenced by this study, more walkable neighbourhoods typically encourage active modes of transport (e.g., walking for transport) (Cerin et al, 2017) and engagement in leisure-time physical activity (Van Cauwenberg et al, 2018), which are beneficial to cardiometabolic health (Bai et al, 2022;Ballard et al, 2021;Lee et al, 2021). However, they are also accompanied by higher levels of air pollution (James et al, 2015) and noise (Salter et al, 2015) that can be detrimental to health (Basner et al, 2014;Gaio et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2019;Salter et al, 2015;Wang et al, 2023).…”

Does regular walking improve lipid levels in adults?

“…However, the small magnitude of the changes may have little clinical impact. 1 There were no significant changes in the walking groups compared to the control groups for triglycerides (17 studies; RMD = 2.2 mg/dL; 95% CI, -8.4 to 12.8; P = .68) or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (18 studies; RMD = 1.5 mg/dL; 95% CI, -0.4 to 3.3; P = .12). Included studies were required to be controlled but were otherwise not described.…”

“…Median TC was 206 mg/dL and median LDL was 126 mg/dL. 1 The primary outcome found that walking decreased TC and LDL levels independent of diet and weight loss. Twenty studies reported on TC and showed that walking significantly decreased TC levels compared to the control groups (raw mean difference [RMD] = 6.7 mg/dL; 95% CI, 0.4-12.9; P = .04).…”

“…The overall risk for bias was determined to be low. 1 A 2020 RCT (n = 22) assessed the effects of a walking intervention on cholesterol and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in individuals ages 40 to 65 years with moderate CVD risk but without diabetes or CVD. 2 Moderate CVD risk was defined as a 2% to 5% 10-year risk for a CVD event using the European HeartScore, which incorporates age, sex, blood pressure, lipid levels, and smoking status 3 ; however, study participants were not required to have hyperlipidemia.…”