British Medical Journal. UK: Joining a walking group is one of the
best and easiest ways to boost overall health, with virtually no side
effects, suggests an analysis of the available evidence, published
online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Benefits include reductions in blood pressure, body fat, total cholesterol and depression risk.
The benefits are wide ranging, and what’s more, members find it relatively easy to stick with this type of exercise regime.
The
findings prompt the researchers to suggest that doctors and other
healthcare professionals should recommend joining a walking group as a
way of boosting health.
They
assessed the available evidence from a wide range of sources on the
physical and mental health consequences of joining an outdoor walking
group for adults, and published up to the end of 2013.
They
found 42 studies, involving almost 2000 people, which met all their
criteria. Three-quarters of their haul had been published within the
past decade, suggesting growing interest in the potential health
benefits of walking groups.
The
studies involved participants from 14 different countries, with a wide
range of long term conditions, including arthritis, dementia, diabetes,
fibromyalgia, obesity/overweight, mental health issues, and Parkinson’s
disease.
Analysis
of the pooled data showed that walking groups have wide ranging
benefits, above and beyond making people more physically active.
People
who joined these groups registered statistically significant falls in
average blood pressure, resting heart rate, body fat, weight, and total
cholesterol.
The
evidence was less clear-cut for reductions in other risk factors for
ill health, such as waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, and
blood fats.
But
walkers also experienced improvements in lung power, overall physical
functioning, and general fitness, and they were less depressed than
before they started walking regularly.
Three
quarters of all the participants stuck with the group, and there were
few side effects to speak of, apart from a handful of falls on roots or
wet ground.
The
researchers point out that in England, at least, 29% of adults do less
than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every week, and almost one
in 10 don’t even manage to walk for more than five minutes at a time
over a month.
Efforts by doctors to bump up total physical activity levels often fall on stony ground, they explain.
“Walking
groups are effective and safe with good adherence and wide ranging
health benefits,” they write. “They could be a promising intervention as
an adjunct to other healthcare, or as a proactive health-promoting
activity.”
And the social aspect of walking groups may help to foster positive attitudes towards physical activity, they suggest.