Classification(s): Behavior/Lifestyle Modification; Exercise Training
Introduction: Recommendations for physical activity suggest their is a dose-response relationship. Much of the existing literature is focused on responses to a low or minimal amount of physical activity.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if increasing physical activity to 100,000 steps/week would lead to improvements in body composition and cardiovascular risk factors for the "somewhat active" to "active" population.
Design: This study was a prospective pedometer-based intervention trial.
Methods: Thirty-one subjects, 13 male (mean age 43.5 +/- 14.5 years) and 18 female (mean age 38.9 +/- 12.6 years) who volunteered to participate in this study completed the full 16 weeks. Subjects were eligible for the study if they were healthy, could ambulate, and their baseline activity level met the step count criteria (=7,500 - <12,500 steps/day). Subjects underwent laboratory testing comprised of resting heart rate, resting blood pressure, body composition, blood lipid analysis, bone mineral density, and a surrogate measure of cardio-respiratory fitness, prior to and 16 weeks after completing the 100,000 steps/week intervention. After the completion of preliminary assessments, subjects were asked to wear a pedometer continuously for 16 weeks; increasing their number of steps from baseline to 100,000 steps/week. The pre to post intervention differences were analyzed using a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures with SPSS 15.0.1 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL).
Results: Fifty-eight percent of subjects adhered (=90,000 steps/week) to the 100,000 steps/week physical activity program. Subjects demonstrated significant reductions in body composition measurements over time with increased physical activity. These improvements included body mass index 27.2 +/- 3.6 to 26.8 +/- 3.6 kg/m2, total percent body fat 35.4 +/- 9.9 to 33.9 +/- 10.3%, and waist circumference 83.9 +/- 10.3 to 81.6 +/- 10.1cm from pre to post measurements.
Conclusions: In conclusion, individuals who are somewhat active or active can gain health benefits, particularly in body composition by increasing their activity level to 100,000 steps/week. The use of a pedometer is an effect approach to increase activity levels.