Effect Of Mild Walk Habit on Body Composition, Blood Pressure and Serum Lipids

Abstract

Fifteen female caddies, aged 40 to 57 yrs, were studied to estimate the effect of mild walk habit on body composition, blood pressure and serum lipids. The subjects had 12 wk of walk habit which consists of 20 to 45% of maximal aerobic power in intensity, 7 to 8 km.d-1 in duration and 5 to 6d.wk-1 in frequency. Significant (p<0.01) reductions in body weight (- 2.9 kg), fat-tissue weight (-4.2 kg), and percent body fat (-6.1%) were found after 12 wk of walk habit. This walk habit also significantly decreased systolic (- 15 mmHg), diastolic (-6 mmHg) and mean (-11 mmHg) blood pressure at rest (p< 0.01, p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). In serum lipids, there were significant (p<0.05 or P < 0.01) reductions in total cholesterol (TC), high-density (HDL-C) and low-density (LDL-C) lipoprotein cholesterol with no significant change in triglycerides. As a result, the ratio of TC to HDL-C and HDL-C to LDL-C showed no significant change by this walk habit. We conclude that 12 wk of mild walk habit results in the beneficial effect on the improvement of body composition and blood pressure. © 1990, The Japanese Society of Physical Fitness and Sports Medicine. All rights reserved.