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| |  Moderate Physical Activity As Effective As Structured Exercise, Researchers Say CHICAGO, IL -- Jan. 26, 1999 -- Lifestyle physical activity -- such as taking a brisk walk around the block, raking leaves and taking the stairs instead of an elevator -- is as effective as a structured exercise program in improving physical activity, heart and respiratory fitness and blood pressure, according to an article in tomorrow’s issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. Andrea Dunn, Ph.D., of The Cooper Institute for Aerobic Research in Dallas, and colleagues studied 235 sedentary men and women for two years to compare the effects of a lifestyle physical activity program with traditional structured exercise on improving physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and CVD risk factors. The researchers report that both the lifestyle and structured activity groups had comparable and significant improvements in physical activity, in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Neither group significantly changed their weight but each group significantly reduced their percentage of body fat. After six months of treatment, sedentary adults randomly assigned to a traditional exercise program had greater improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness than adults in a lifestyle activity program. However, the subsequent decline in fitness in the two groups was greater in the traditional exercise group. So at the end of two years, fitness was similar in both groups. "This is, to our knowledge, the first demonstration that a lifestyle approach to increasing physical activity in previously sedentary healthy adults is as effective over 24 months as more traditional structured exercise approaches," the authors write. "Our results show that sedentary but otherwise healthy individuals can make significant improvements in physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and CVD risk factors without having to go to a fitness centre and perform high-intensity workouts. “For sedentary persons whose barriers to physical activity may include lack of time, dislike of vigorous exercise or lack of access to facilities, this is good news." A second study showed that a program of diet plus everyday lifestyle activities offers similar health benefits and may be a suitable alternative to more vigorous structured exercise for obese women and sedentary adults. Ross Andersen, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues studied 40 women aged 21 to 60 years (mean weight 196 pounds) to examine the short- and long-term changes in weight, body composition and cardiovascular risk produced by a 1,200-calorie diet combined with either programmed aerobic exercise or moderate-intensity lifestyle activity. The women were treated for 16 weeks and then followed up for one year. The researchers found that a program of diet and increased lifestyle physical activity -- such as increasing the amount of walking in the daily routine, performing more yard work and household chores or deliberately using the stairs when possible -- may be a suitable alternative to diet plus vigorous aerobic exercise for obese women. The authors caution that further studies, with larger sample sizes of both men and women, are needed to replicate this finding and to identify those persons who are best suited for lifestyle vs. vigorous activity. The study found that during the 16-week treatment program, the mean weight losses were 18.3 pounds for the aerobic exercise group and 17.4 pounds for the lifestyle activity group. During the one-year follow-up, the aerobic group regained 3.5 pounds while the lifestyle group regained 0.18 pounds. The researchers observed significant reductions in total cholesterol, triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, bad cholesterol) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, good cholesterol) levels in both groups after 16 weeks of treatment with similar changes in the aerobic and lifestyle groups. "This is good news for people who understand the role of physical activity in weight control but dislike vigorous physical activity or believe that they lack time to exercise," the authors write. "For sedentary overweight patients, a diet combined with a lifestyle program of gradual and moderate-intensity physical activity can facilitate weight loss and enhance weight management and improve CVD [cardiovascular disease] risk profiles." According to information cited in the study, obesity is a common and serious health problem. Decreased physical activity is believed to be a major contributor to the fattening of America, and a recent Surgeon General report notes that only 22 percent of U.S. adults are currently active enough to derive the health benefits attained with physical activity, the authors write. "Results of the current study confirm the importance of an active lifestyle in helping participants maintain their weight losses," they write. "Patients should strive to incorporate regular physical activity into their lives on a daily basis but should realise that even some physical activity, even if not performed regularly, is much better than being sedentary." Related Links: The Journal of the American Medical Association
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