Research at Binghamton University in New York finds that moderate-intensity walking improves cardiovascular risk factors in the short term.
"We know that walking is a great form of exercise, but research is divided on how effective walking is at changing cholesterol, weight and blood pressure," said Pamela Stewart Fass, dean and professor at Binghamton.
Gasova led a doctoral student, Elizabet Mariđlijano, while conducting a study on a group of 70 women. They participated in a voluntary program of joint walks. The participants were given a programmable counter for the hours spent walking, over a period of 10 weeks, and they had to have at least 150 minutes of brisk walking per week. They were tested before they started walking, and an online risk assessment tool was used to find out their risk of heart attack within 10 weeks.
After five weeks, the participants talked about their heart health, and then pedometer data was taken. They were also offered a challenge with the aim of increasing their aerobic capacity, which meant increasing their daily steps by at least 10 percent.
At the end, their weight, BMI, blood pressure and cholesterol were measured, and they also had to answer questions about their physical activity, personal characteristics, food choices and behavior over the past 10 weeks.
The results confirmed the initial hypotheses of the research team, that walking can improve cardiovascular risk factors in a short period of time.
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