The effect of 2 walking programs on aerobic fitness, body composition, and physical activity in sedentary office employees

PURPOSE: The present study examined changes in body composition, maximum oxygen uptake, and physical activity in sedentary office employees prescribed with two different walking programs during a 10-week intervention. METHODS: 68 sedentary employees were randomly assigned to one of three groups: multiple bouts of walking (n = 24 (5 male, 19 female) Age = 46±9, BMI = 30.5±5.78 kg/m(2)), continuous walking (n = 22 (6 male, 16 female) Age = 48±9, BMI = 30.6±6.2 kg/m(2)) and the control group (n = 22 (5 male, 17 female) Age = 42±10, BMI = 27.5±5.23 kg/m(2)). Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (iDXA) assessed body composition and a Bruce protocol treadmill test assessed aerobic fitness at baseline and week 11. At baseline, week 6 and week 11 a waist worn accelerometer measured physical activity and sedentary behavior. Physical activity was measured throughout the program with a wrist worn accelerometer. RESULTS: The results from the mixed-design ANOVA show that fat mass (p < .000) and fat percentage (p < .000) decreased for all three groups as a main effect of time. Sedentary behavior did not change (p>0.05) for all three groups. Moderate intensity physical activity increased significantly from pre-test to week 6 (p<0.05), then decreased from week 6 to post-test (p<0.05), with no significant changes observed from pre-test to post-test (p>0.05) for all groups. No changes in VO(2) were observed (p>0.05) for all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous or intermittent walking activity produce similar benefits on body weight, fat mass and body fat percentage in sedentary employees. Meanwhile, intermittent walking allowed these sedentary employees to increase lean mass and fat free mass. Intermittent walking could provide at least similar benefits on body composition compared to a continuous walking program.