Physical exercise program carried out in primary health care units improves exercise tolerance and economy of movement

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a 1 yr exercise program carried out in Primary Health Care Units (PHCU) concerning the variables related to cardiorespiratory fitness (CF). A quasi-experimental study was performed with 22 women (56.35 ± 9.25 yrs old). The intervention was comprised of 3, 90-min sessions·wk-1. The subjects' CF was measured via submaximal incremental treadmill test through indirect calorimetry. A significant difference in the subjects' final exercise time (in minutes) was found between the initial test and the 1 yr test [Baseline (BL) = 6.36 ± 3.2 and at 1 yr (1Y) = 10.80 ± 5.0 min; P = 0.004] and final exercise stage (BL = 2.2 ± 1.2 and 1Y = 3.6 ± 1.7, P = 0.004). The number of completed minutes and stages during the treadmill test was significantly increased after the 1 yr physical exercise program carried out in the PHCU. Thus, the subjects' exercise tolerance and economy of movement were improved.