Relationship between accumulated walking and body composition in middle-aged women.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between objectively determined physical activity (pedometer counted steps per day) and body composition variables in middle-aged women.
METHODS: Height, weight, body fat percentage (%BF), waist circumference, and hip circumference were measured on eighty women (50.3 +/- 6.8 yr). For 7 d after testing, each subject wore a pedometer throughout the day while following her normal daily routine. Each morning the pedometer was reset to zero, and each evening the subject recorded the steps accumulated during the day. Pearson product moment correlations were used to examine the relationship between average steps per day and body composition variables. Subjects were placed in groups to reflect different levels of physical activity: inactive (<6000 steps x d), somewhat active (6000-9999 steps x d), and regularly active (> or = 10,000 steps x d). ANOVA was utilized to determine whether body composition variables varied across activity groups. Significance was set at P < 0.05 for all tests.
RESULTS: : A significant correlation was found between average steps per day and %BF (-0.713, P < 0.0001); body mass index (BMI) (-0.417, P < 0.0001); waist circumference (-0.616; P < 0.0001); hip circumference (-0.278; P = 0.013); and waist-to-hip ratio (-0.652; P < 0.0001). There was a significant difference in body composition variables among activity groups, with higher values found in the less active groups.
CONCLUSION: This is the first study to specifically examine the relationship between steps per day and body composition in middle-aged women. Although the cross-sectional nature of this study does not allow causal relationships to be determined, women who walked more had lower %BF. Additionally, the average BMI of women who accumulated 10,000+ steps x d was in the normal range.