Relação entre a prática da caminhada não supervisionada e fatores de risco para as doenças cardiovasculares em adultos e idosos

Abstract

Remain physically active through the practice of walking is highly recommended by health professionals in order to avoid, minimize or reverse various health disorders that can compromise a good quality of life for the population. Objective: To verify if the non supervised walk has enough stimulation to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular disease in adults and the elderly. Methods: This study included 225 healthy men and women who were divided in 4 groups: sedentary (G0), walk (G1), walk an extra activity (G2), and walk and 2 extra activities (G3). All participants performed the following assessments: questionnaire IPAQ, AAHPERD battery tests, blood pressure, lipid profile and body composition. Results: The results suggest that practice of non supervised walk (G1) promotes limited benefits to the health when compared to G3 (general functional fitness index = 273.4±111 vs 340.6±92; diastolic blood pressure = 80.0±8 vs 75.4±7 mmHg; HDL cholesterol = 44.3±10 vs 50.1±10 mg/dL respectively). Conclusions: The increased number of activities (G3) was considered beneficial to reduce the risk factors of cardiovascular disease compared to sedentary (G0) and walk (G1) groups.