BACKGROUND: It is important to determine if permanent lifestyle changes may result from physical activity interventions and whether health may be affected by these changes. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a 10-year follow-up of physical activity and self-reported health status in participants of a randomized clinical trial of walking intervention. METHODS: Of the original 229 volunteer postmenopausal women who participated in the original clinical trial, 196 (N = 96 intervention and 100 controls) completed the 10-year follow-up telephone interview. The interview protocol included questions on self-reported walking for exercise and purposes other than exercise, the Paffenbarger sport and exercise index, functional status, and various chronic diseases and conditions. RESULTS: The median values for both usual walking for exercise and total walking were significantly higher for walkers compared with controls (for both, P = .01), with median differences of 706 and 420 kcal/wk, respectively. After excluding women who reported heart disease during the original trial, 2 women in the walking group (2%) and 11 women in the control group (12%) reported physician-diagnosed heart disease over the last 10 years (P = .07). There were also fewer hospitalizations, surgeries, and falls among women in the walking group, although these differences were not statistically significant (P>.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although limited by self-report, this study may be the first to demonstrate long-term exercise compliance to a randomized control trial in older women and to suggest that health benefits may have ensued as a result of these increased activity levels.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: It is important to determine if permanent lifestyle changes may result from physical activity interventions and whether health may be affected by these changes. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a 10-year follow-up of physical activity and self-reported health status in participants of a randomized clinical trial of walking intervention. METHODS: Of the original 229 volunteer postmenopausal women who participated in the original clinical trial, 196 (N = 96 intervention and 100 controls) completed the 10-year follow-up telephone interview. The interview protocol included questions on self-reported walking for exercise and purposes other than exercise, the Paffenbarger sport and exercise index, functional status, and various chronic diseases and conditions. RESULTS: The median values for both usual walking for exercise and total walking were significantly higher for walkers compared with controls (for both, P = .01), with median differences of 706 and 420 kcal/wk, respectively. After excluding women who reported heart disease during the original trial, 2 women in the walking group (2%) and 11 women in the control group (12%) reported physician-diagnosed heart disease over the last 10 years (P = .07). There were also fewer hospitalizations, surgeries, and falls among women in the walking group, although these differences were not statistically significant (P>.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although limited by self-report, this study may be the first to demonstrate long-term exercise compliance to a randomized control trial in older women and to suggest that health benefits may have ensued as a result of these increased activity levels.
Authors: Lewis H Kuller; Kelley K Pettee Gabriel; Laura S Kinzel; Darcy A Underwood; Margaret B Conroy; Yuefang Chang; Rachel H Mackey; Daniel Edmundowicz; Kim S Tyrrell; Alhaji M Buhari; Andrea M Kriska Journal: Obesity (Silver Spring) Date: 2011-04-14 Impact factor: 5.002
Authors: Teresa Y L Liu-Ambrose; Karim M Khan; Janice J Eng; Graham L Gillies; Stephen R Lord; Heather A McKay Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2005-10 Impact factor: 5.562
Authors: A Bueno-Cavanillas; F Padilla-Ruiz; J J Jiménez-Moleón; C A Peinado-Alonso; R Gálvez-Vargas Journal: Eur J Epidemiol Date: 2000 Impact factor: 8.082
Authors: David M Williams; Charles E Matthews; Candace Rutt; Melissa A Napolitano; Bess H Marcus Journal: Med Sci Sports Exerc Date: 2008-07 Impact factor: 5.411