Paper Example on Health Benefits of Walking for Older Adults: A Limited-Bias Study

Diehr, P., & Hirsch, C. (2010). Health benefits of increased walking for sedentary, generally healthy older adults: using longitudinal data to approximate an intervention trial. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biomedical Sciences and Medical Sciences, 65(9), 982-989.

Diehr & Hirsch (2010) conduct a study on the health benefits of walking for older adults. Since observational data can contain biases, the current study proposed a limited-bias study using longitudinal data retrieved from the cardiovascular health study (CHS). 5,888 participants were 65 years and above. These people were selected randomly and selected into two groups. The first group comprised of 5,201 people and they had ten clinic examinations yearly. These people were recruited in 1990. The second group comprised 687 African Americans selected in 1993 and they had seven examinations yearly. Data were collected by telephone after every six months. Data on the number of city blocks walked weekly was classified and those who walked less than 7 blocks were considered sedentary while those who walked more than or equal to 28 were considered active. The findings of the study showed that those who were active had excellent, good, or very good self-rated health compared to those who were sedentary. The study will be crucial in my research as it will provide information on the benefits of walking in general for all age groups.

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Gordon-Larsen, P., Hou, N., Sidney, S., Sternfeld, B., Lewis, C. E., Jacobs Jr, D. R., & Popkin, B. M. (2009). Fifteen-year longitudinal trends in walking patterns and their impact on weight change. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 89(1), 19-26.

Gordon-Larsen et al. (2009) study assessed the relationship between walking and gaining weight over 15 years. Data was taken from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study involving 4995 participants between the age of 18 and 30 years. They were from four main American cities and their weights were examined after two, five, seven, 10, and 15 years later. Data on baseline weight, 15-year weight change, and weight gain was taken. The findings of the study showed that there was a relationship between walking during adulthood and attenuating long-term weight gain as one grew older. The study will be crucial in my research since it will provide information on the benefits of walking on reduced weight gain and weight loss in adulthood.

Murtagh, E. M., Boreham, C. A., Nevill, A., Hare, L. G., & Murphy, M. H. (2005). The effects of 60 minutes of brisk walking per week, accumulated in two different patterns, on cardiovascular risk. Preventive medicine, 41(1), 92-97.

In their study, Murtagh et al. (2005) discuss the impact of 60 minutes of brisk walking every week on cardiovascular risk, with the walk being accumulated in two different patterns. The study is conducted to assess the effectiveness of a 20-minute brisk walking continuously and in two 10-minute bouts for three days every week on minimizing cardiovascular disease risk factors and improving fitness. 48 participants were involved (31 women and 17 men) with an average age of 45.7 years. The participants were assigned either a 20-minute walk or a two 10-minute walk for 3 days every week for twelve weeks. Factors such as heart rate, oxygen consumption, blood pressure, body composition, and perceived exertion were assessed. However, only 32 people completed the study with the results showing there were no changes in body mass, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen consumption, and waist and hip circumferences. Therefore, brisk walking for 20 minutes 3 days per week did not reduce the risk factors of CVD among sedentary adults. Future research should focus on fast pace walking programs whose total duration is more than one hour weekly. The findings of the study will help in identifying the time duration that should be allocated in the fast pace program and experience weight loss.

Rodriguez-Hernandez, M. G., & Wadsworth, D. W. (2019). The effect of 2 walking programs on aerobic fitness, body composition, and physical activity in sedentary office employees. PloS one, 14(1), 1-15.

The study aimed to assess changes in physical activity, maximum oxygen uptake, and body composition among sedentary office employees who had two different walking programs. The testing period lasted for 10 weeks. There were 68 employees and they were divided into three groups. The first one was the control group (22 people: 17 women and 5 men), the second one walked in multiple bouts (24 people: 19 women and 5 men), while the third group was involved in continuous walking (22 people: 16 women and 6 men). Body composition and aerobic fitness were assessed at week 11. Physical activity and sedentary behaviors were assessed as well. The results showed that fat mass, body weight, and body fat percentage reduced and intermittent walking enabled the employees to enhance fat-free mass and lean mass. The findings of the study will help in my essay by identifying the positive improvements of both intermittent and continuous walking.

Serwe, K. M., Swartz, A. M., Hart, T. L., & Strath, S. J. (2011). Effectiveness of long and short bout walking on increasing physical activity in women. Journal of women's health, 20(2), 247-253.

Serwe et al. 2011 conducted a study to analyze and compare the changes in physical activity between participants who were supposed to walk every day in a single continuous session compared to those walking in accumulated shorter bouts. The study was conducted over 8 weeks and 60 inactive women were selected. The 60 women were divided into three groups, the first one was a control group, the second group was tasked with walking for five days a week in a single continuous long bout for 30 minutes or walking every day for three shorts ten-minute bouts. Measurements of body mass index (BMI), height, diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate, and hip and waist circumference were taken. The results showed that the two groups who participated in brisk walking had greater health benefits compared to the control group. The findings of the study will be essential in establishing the effectiveness and benefits of long and short bout walking.

References

Diehr, P., & Hirsch, C. (2010). Health benefits of increased walking for sedentary, generally healthy older adults: using longitudinal data to approximate an intervention trial. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biomedical Sciences and Medical Sciences, 65(9), 982-989.

Gordon-Larsen, P., Hou, N., Sidney, S., Steinfeld, B., Lewis, C. E., Jacobs Jr, D. R., & Popkin, B. M. (2009). Fifteen-year longitudinal trends in walking patterns and their impact on weight change. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 89(1), 19-26.

Murtagh, E. M., Boreham, C. A., Nevill, A., Hare, L. G., & Murphy, M. H. (2005). The effects of 60 minutes of brisk walking per week, accumulated in two different patterns, on cardiovascular risk. Preventive medicine, 41(1), 92-97.

Rodriguez-Hernandez, M. G., & Wadsworth, D. W. (2019). The effect of 2 walking programs on aerobic fitness, body composition, and physical activity in sedentary office employees. PloS one, 14(1), 1-15.

Serwe, K. M., Swartz, A. M., Hart, T. L., & Strath, S. J. (2011). Effectiveness of long and short bout walking on increasing physical activity in women. Journal of women's health, 20(2), 247-253.