University of Cambridge researchers found being inactive may be twice as deadly as being obese.
The more an older man walks, the better his physical and mental health and his quality of life are likely to be, finds a study in the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Although walking ranks among the favorite forms of physical activity for older adults, few studies have considered the specific impact of walking as opposed to overall physical activity, on health in older people.
"Men's health is becoming an increasing concern given their high rates of chronic diseases, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In particular, health behaviors of older men have not been studied very much," said the study's lead author Jeff Vallance, Ph.D., associate professor in the faculty of health disciplines at Athabasca University in Canada.
He says that his team's study was among the first to look carefully at objective measures of walking and of health and quality of life among older men.
The researchers surveyed 385 men above age 55 living in Alberta, Canada. The majority (69 percent) were overweight, with 19 percent being obese. The men wore step pedometers for three consecutive days, including one weekend day, to measure walking activity.
"Many health promotion experts suggest that pedometers offer objective measurement of both activity and motivation," says Nanette Mutrie, Ph.D., a professor at the Institute for Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh.
The researchers divided the men into four groups based on the number of steps taken daily, ranging from lowest to highest. The men averaged 8,539 steps per day. "Older men who averaged the greatest number of steps per day reported more optimal quality of life profiles, in terms of both physical and mental health, than older men averaging fewer steps per day."
Mutrie pointed out that although higher step counts were associated with higher health-related quality of life, it is important for the public to realize that "these associations were noted even at modest step counts." She said that the new findings "add to the growing literature on the benefits of walking, the use of pedometers and the health benefits of modest amounts of daily activity that contribute to how we feel and how we function."
Walking 10,000 steps per day has become "a commonly recognized walking goal that is often promoted," noted the researchers. But in practical terms, Vallance says, "the majority of older men don't achieve 10,000 steps per day so that may not be a realistic target. It doesn't necessarily matter how many steps you are doing."
The important thing, he says, is that older men continually strive to increase the amount of walking they do. "More steps are better," he says.
For individuals with kidney disease, walking may help prolong life and reduce the risk of needing dialysis or a kidney transplant. That's the conclusion of a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).
Physical inactivity is common among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Che-Yi Chou MD, PhD, Chiz-Tzung Chang, PhD (China Medical University Hospital, in Taiwan) and their colleagues looked to see if an activity as simple as walking might provide benefits to patients. The researchers studied all 6,363 patients with CKD stages 3 to 5 in the CKD program of China Medical University Hospital from June 2003 to May 2013. Patients were an average of 70 years old, and they were followed for an average of 1.3 years.
Just over 21% of patients reported walking as their most common form of exercise. During follow-up, those who walked were 33% less likely to die and 21% less likely to need dialysis or a kidney transplant. The more patients walked, the more they benefited. Compared with those who did not walk, patients who walked 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and ≥ 7 times per week were 17%, 28%, 58%, and 59% less likely to die during the study, respectively. They were also 19%, 27%, 43%, and 44% less likely to need dialysis or a transplant.
The researchers found that the presence of other, or comorbid, conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes was similar between walking and non-walking patients.
"We have shown that CKD patients with comorbidities were able to walk if they wanted to, and that walking for exercise is associated with improved patient survival and a lower risk of dialysis," said Dr. Chou. "A minimal amount of walking -- just once a week for less than 30 minutes -- appears to be beneficial, but more frequent and longer walking may provide a more beneficial effect."
A study shows that walking reduces risk of functional limitation associated with knee osteoarthritis (OA). In fact, the study funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) journal, Arthritis Care & Research, suggests that walking 6,000 or more steps per day may protect those with or at risk of knee of OA from developing mobility issues, such as difficulty getting up from a chair and climbing stairs.
Nearly 27 million Americans age 25 and older are diagnosed with OA according to prevalence study by Lawrence et al. (Arthritis Rheum, 2008). Previous research reports that knee OA is the leading cause of functional limitation among older adults, making walking and climbing stairs difficult. Moreover, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) state that 80% of OA patients have some limitation in movement, with 11% of adults with knee OA needing assistance with personal care assistance.
While walking is a common daily physical activity for older adults, medical evidence reports that two-thirds of U.S. adults with arthritis walk less than 90 minutes each week. "Our study examines if more walking equates with better functioning, and if so, how much daily walking is needed to minimize risk of developing problems with mobility in people with knee OA," said Daniel White, PT, ScD, from Sargent College at Boston University in Massachusetts.
For the present study, researchers measured daily steps taken by 1788 people with or at risk for knee OA, who were part of the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study. Walking was measured with a monitor over seven days and functional limitation evaluated two years later, defined as a slow walking speed and a Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) physical function score greater than 28 out of 68.
Walking an additional 1,000 steps each was associated with between a 16% to 18% reduction in incident functional limitation two years later. Walking less than 6,000 steps daily was the best threshold for identifying those who developed functional limitation.
Dr. White concludes, "Walking is an inexpensive activity and despite the common popular goal of walking 10,000 steps per day, our study finds only 6,000 steps are necessary to realize benefits. We encourage those with or at risk of knee OA to walk at least 3,000 or more steps each day, and ultimately progress to 6,000 steps daily to minimize the risk of developing difficulty with mobility."
Culled from Health Behavior News Service part of the Center for Advancing Health, University of Cambridge, Wiley and American Society of Nephrology (ASN)
