NEW YORK: Just undertaking walking to stay fit may not be enough to produce significant benefits, according to a new study by researchers at Canada's University of Alberta.
Presenting the findings of a research team that compared a 10,000-step exercise program with traditional fitness programs at the American College of Sports Medicine annual conference, Vicki Harber, who led the research at the university, said people are told to increase activity such as walking, but there is no stress made on the need for such activities to be supplemented by other activities in order to gain the desired health benefits.
Low-intensity activity such as walking alone is not likely to give anyone any marked health benefits compared to programs that occasionally elevate the intensity, she told the conference.
Harber and her colleagues divided 128 sedentary men and women into two groups. One group was put on to a 10,000-step exercise program using treadmills and stationary bicycles. The other group was administered traditional fitness program involving exercise at a moderate intensity. The researchers then found that participants in the second group fared better than those put on 10,000-step lifestyle program on aerobic fitness and reduced systolic blood pressure.
Harber said, "When we matched the two programs for energy expenditure, we found that the traditional fitness program improved aerobic fitness and reduced systolic blood pressure, more than the 10,000-step lifestyle program."
Those who took part in a more active traditional fitness regimen were found to have increased their peak oxygen uptake, an indicator of aerobic fitness, by 10 per cent. Those who took part in the walking program had a 4 per cent increase, she said. Systolic blood pressure also dropped by 10 per cent for the traditional fitness group, while it was 4 per cent for the group who took up only walking.
The researchers, however, noted that other parameters of overall health, like fasting plasma glucose levels, glucose tolerance test and various blood lipids remained the same for the two groups.
Harber suggests that in order to increase the effectiveness of the walking program, one must add some intensified activity. "You've got to do more than light exercise and move towards the inclusion of regular moderate activity, and don't be shy to interject an occasional period of time at the vigorous level."
