Effect of ecological walking training in sedentary elderly people: act on aging study
Effect of ecological walking training in sedentary elderly people: act on aging study
Purpose of the study: this study aims to investigate the effects of a walking program on aerobic endurance and function in a sample of sedentary elderly people.
Design and methods: for this study, 126 sedentary individuals were recruited: 63 individuals (mean age = 74.1±6.0 years) for the control group and 63 (mean age = 72.0±4.5 years) for the intervention group. The intervention consisted of walking training including balance exercises and lower limb strength activities twice a week for 4 months. We collected baseline and post-test measurements of aerobic endurance, lower limb strength, and mobility. We also measured aerobic endurance at increments of 4, 8, and 12 weeks between the baseline and the post-test. We used analyses of covariance with baseline value, gender, age, and body mass index scores as covariates (p <. 05) and calculated the effect size for the effects of the intervention. The changeover time of aerobic endurance was also analyzed with the repeated analysis of variance (p <. 05).
Results: the intervention group showed steady and significant improvements with respect to the 6-min walk (aerobic endurance) from 447.89 m (SD 73.87) to 561.51 m (SD 83.96), as well as the 30-s chair stand (lower limb strength) from 10 (SD 3) to 13 (SD 3) number of times and the Timed Up and Go Test (mobility) from 8.53 s (SD 2.86) to 7.13 s (SD 1.76) at the post-test, whereas the control group showed significant decrease in all measurements.
Implication: these results underline that an ecological walking training program can be used to improve physical functioning among sedentary elderly people.
Intervention, Physical activity
611-623
Magistro, Daniele
ab9296bc-fda6-469e-a3f8-3a574faa1b7e
Liubicich, Monica Emma
561e3204-09b7-419e-9b27-ce55a5dc1965
Candela, Filippo
7e134771-201f-4c68-a307-be37674e95a7
Ciairano, Silvia
b296391f-77e5-4d20-9d6a-0ec8785a078f
August 2014
Magistro, Daniele
ab9296bc-fda6-469e-a3f8-3a574faa1b7e
Liubicich, Monica Emma
561e3204-09b7-419e-9b27-ce55a5dc1965
Candela, Filippo
7e134771-201f-4c68-a307-be37674e95a7
Ciairano, Silvia
b296391f-77e5-4d20-9d6a-0ec8785a078f
Magistro, Daniele, Liubicich, Monica Emma, Candela, Filippo and Ciairano, Silvia
(2014)
Effect of ecological walking training in sedentary elderly people: act on aging study.
Gerontologist, 54 (4), .
(doi:10.1093/geront/gnt039).
Abstract
Purpose of the study: this study aims to investigate the effects of a walking program on aerobic endurance and function in a sample of sedentary elderly people.
Design and methods: for this study, 126 sedentary individuals were recruited: 63 individuals (mean age = 74.1±6.0 years) for the control group and 63 (mean age = 72.0±4.5 years) for the intervention group. The intervention consisted of walking training including balance exercises and lower limb strength activities twice a week for 4 months. We collected baseline and post-test measurements of aerobic endurance, lower limb strength, and mobility. We also measured aerobic endurance at increments of 4, 8, and 12 weeks between the baseline and the post-test. We used analyses of covariance with baseline value, gender, age, and body mass index scores as covariates (p <. 05) and calculated the effect size for the effects of the intervention. The changeover time of aerobic endurance was also analyzed with the repeated analysis of variance (p <. 05).
Results: the intervention group showed steady and significant improvements with respect to the 6-min walk (aerobic endurance) from 447.89 m (SD 73.87) to 561.51 m (SD 83.96), as well as the 30-s chair stand (lower limb strength) from 10 (SD 3) to 13 (SD 3) number of times and the Timed Up and Go Test (mobility) from 8.53 s (SD 2.86) to 7.13 s (SD 1.76) at the post-test, whereas the control group showed significant decrease in all measurements.
Implication: these results underline that an ecological walking training program can be used to improve physical functioning among sedentary elderly people.
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 5 April 2013
e-pub ahead of print date: 15 May 2013
Published date: August 2014
Keywords:
Intervention, Physical activity
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 510667
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/510667
ISSN: 0016-9013
PURE UUID: 6e1848ad-26f6-4a70-bb9a-a16ef6d9ce19
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Date deposited: 16 Apr 2026 16:34
Last modified: 17 Apr 2026 02:16
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Contributors
Author:
Daniele Magistro
Author:
Monica Emma Liubicich
Author:
Filippo Candela
Author:
Silvia Ciairano
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