Impact of 12-weeks of Nordic Pole walking on arterial stiffness in sedentary overweight and obese adults

Authors

Arbër N. Shehu, James Madison UniversityFollow

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0196-2960

Date of Graduation

7-28-2020

Semester of Graduation

Summer

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Health Professions

Second Advisor

Jeremy D. Akers

Third Advisor

David L. Wenos

Abstract

Arterial stiffness (AS) is an independent predictor for cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Regular aerobic exercise is considered to improve AS. Nordic walking provides important health benefits, however, the effect of this walking method as treatment for AS remains unclear. We conducted a randomized controlled study to examine the effect of a 12-week supervised group walking intervention (controlled pace, ~3000 steps/day, 30 minutes/day, 5 times/week), with (NW) and without (SW) Nordic poles, on AS in sedentary overweight and obese adults. Fourteen individuals were randomly assigned to NW (n=7; median age 54.0 years; body mass index (BMI)=31.3 kg/m²) or SW (n=7; median age 39.0 years, BMI 30.5 kg/m²). AS was measured via carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) and carotid-radial PWV (cr-PWV) using applanation tonometry at baseline and post-intervention. The following were also recorded at baseline and post: body weight, BMI, waist circumference, body composition, seated and supine blood pressure, glucose, HbA1C, lipid panel, maximal oxygen capacity, 7-day physical activity (PA), 3-day food records, and PACES (PA Enjoyement Scale). On average, median walking compliance, including supervised and self-reported walking, was 88.30% for both groups (SW=88.30% and NW=86.70%). Median supervised walking compliance was ~75% and ~70% for SW and NW, respectively. Central (cf-PWV) and peripheral (cr-PWV) AS was similar at baseline and did not change significantly in either group with the intervention. PACES scores increased significantly (ppp