03 Sep Postmenopausal Women: Impact Brisk Walking
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Pascale Mauriège, PhD, Division of Kinesiology
PEPS, Room 2148, Laval University, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer:
1) The impact of a 4-month brisk walking program (3 sessions/week of 45-min walking at 60% of heart rate reserve) on postmenopausal moderately obese (BMI=29-35 kg/m2) women’s perceived health, and more particularly the perceived ideal weight and stress level.
2) The existence of a relationship between improvements in perceived ideal weight and fat mass reduction in the walking group.
3) The lack of non respondents to our novel self-administered Short Perceived Health Questionnaire (SPHQ) that was completed within 2-3 min by all participant.
4) The good reproductibility for five of six items of the SHPQ, and the validation of three questions against generic tools.
MedicalResearch.com: Were any of the findings unexpected ?
Answer:
The relationship between some items of perceived health and body composition, but also the reliability, the reproductibility and the good acceptance of the SPHQ.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Answer:
A brisk walking program exerts a favourable impact on cardiorespiratory fitness, and body composition (body weight and fat mass losses, as well as waist girth reduction), but also on perceived health. Although being less studied, this aspect is of importance as it is related to wellness’ participants.
Our data may encourage patients to engage in a brisk walking program, because of their multiple effects (physiological, morphological and psychological).
Furthermore, brisk walking is the most common feasible form of aerobic exercise for middle-aged women because of its safety (low risk of injuries), popularity (low cost) and accessibility to all public.
In summary, a brisk walking program increases fitness and wellness in postmenopausal women.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Answer:
Additional studies are needed
- to more accurately examine the relationships between changes in perceived health and those in body fatness and/or cardiorespiratory fitness after endurance training.
- to continue the validation of the SPHQ agains other generic tools
- to extend the SHPQ to the overall population (as for example, premenopausal women, men, and individuals of non French origin).
Citation:
Impact of brisk walking on perceived health evaluated by a novel short questionnaire in sedentary and moderately obese postmenopausal women.
Garnier S, Gaubert I, Joffroy S, Auneau G, Mauriège P.
From the 1Faculty of Sport Sciences and Human Kinetics, Université P. Sabatier, Toulouse, France; and 2Fédération Française d’Éducation Physique et de Gymnastique Volontaire, Paris, France.
Menopause. 2013 Feb 4. [Epub ahead of print]
Last Updated on September 3, 2013 by Marie Benz MD FAAD