TY - JOUR
T1 - Training and retention effects of paced and music-synchronised walking exercises on pre-older females: an interventional study
AU - Wang, Yi
AU - Guo, Xian
AU - Wang, Hongchu
AU - Chen, Yinru
AU - Xu, Naxin
AU - Xie, Minghao
AU - Wong, Duo Wai Chi
AU - Lam, Wing Kai
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, the Research Funds of Renmin University of China (22XNKJ05), the Key Projects in the National Science & Technology Pillar Program during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan Period (2012BAK21B00), and the Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (P0043798).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/11/23
Y1 - 2022/11/23
N2 - Background: Physical activity at pre-older ages (55–64 years) can greatly affect one’s physical fitness, health, physical-activity behaviour, and quality of life at older ages. The objective of this study was to conduct a 24-week walking-exercise programme among sedentary pre-older females and investigate the influence of different walking cadences on cardiorespiratory fitness and associated biomarkers. Methods: A total of 78 pre-older sedentary female participants were recruited and randomly assigned to normal (n = 36), paced (n = 15), music-synchronised (n = 15) walking, and no-exercise control (n = 12) groups, respectively. The normal, paced, and music-synchronised walking groups walked at a cadence of 120 steps/min, 125 steps/min, and 120–128 steps/min, respectively, under supervised conditions. Anthropometric characteristics, step length, nutrient intake, blood pressure and composition, and cardiorespiratory fitness were measured at baseline, the 12th week of the programme, the 24th week of the programme (completion), and after a 12-week retention period, which began immediately upon completion of the programme and did not feature any supervised exercises. Results: All walking conditions improved high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, step length, maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max), and oxidative capacity at anaerobic threshold (all P < 0.001); however, after the 12-week retention period only the training effects of HDL-C (P < 0.05) and VO2max (P < 0.05) remained robust. Additionally, music-synchronised walking was found to reduce the fat ratio (P = 0.031), while paced walking was found to reduce body mass (P = 0.049). Conclusions: The significant pre–post changes in health-related outcomes across the 24-week walking intervention, including improved blood composition, longer step length, and better cardiorespiratory capacity, show that this intervention is promising for improving health and fitness. When, during the retention period, the participants resumed their usual lifestyles without supervised exercise, most physiological biomarkers deteriorated. Thus, for sedentary middle-aged females, persistent behavioural change is necessary to retain the health benefits of physical exercise.
AB - Background: Physical activity at pre-older ages (55–64 years) can greatly affect one’s physical fitness, health, physical-activity behaviour, and quality of life at older ages. The objective of this study was to conduct a 24-week walking-exercise programme among sedentary pre-older females and investigate the influence of different walking cadences on cardiorespiratory fitness and associated biomarkers. Methods: A total of 78 pre-older sedentary female participants were recruited and randomly assigned to normal (n = 36), paced (n = 15), music-synchronised (n = 15) walking, and no-exercise control (n = 12) groups, respectively. The normal, paced, and music-synchronised walking groups walked at a cadence of 120 steps/min, 125 steps/min, and 120–128 steps/min, respectively, under supervised conditions. Anthropometric characteristics, step length, nutrient intake, blood pressure and composition, and cardiorespiratory fitness were measured at baseline, the 12th week of the programme, the 24th week of the programme (completion), and after a 12-week retention period, which began immediately upon completion of the programme and did not feature any supervised exercises. Results: All walking conditions improved high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, step length, maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max), and oxidative capacity at anaerobic threshold (all P < 0.001); however, after the 12-week retention period only the training effects of HDL-C (P < 0.05) and VO2max (P < 0.05) remained robust. Additionally, music-synchronised walking was found to reduce the fat ratio (P = 0.031), while paced walking was found to reduce body mass (P = 0.049). Conclusions: The significant pre–post changes in health-related outcomes across the 24-week walking intervention, including improved blood composition, longer step length, and better cardiorespiratory capacity, show that this intervention is promising for improving health and fitness. When, during the retention period, the participants resumed their usual lifestyles without supervised exercise, most physiological biomarkers deteriorated. Thus, for sedentary middle-aged females, persistent behavioural change is necessary to retain the health benefits of physical exercise.
KW - Aerobic exercise
KW - Cardio-metabolic biomarkers
KW - Dynamic balance
KW - Heart rate
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85142442061&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12877-022-03598-z
DO - 10.1186/s12877-022-03598-z
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 36424532
AN - SCOPUS:85142442061
SN - 1471-2318
VL - 22
JO - BMC Geriatrics
JF - BMC Geriatrics
IS - 1
M1 - 895
ER -