Walking for Heart Health: A Study of Adult Women in Rural New York

The study was undertaken to partially address the number one priority for Delaware County for 2013-2017: reducing chronic illness including heart disease and obesity (Delaware County Public Health, 2013). Thus, the purpose was to examine the effects of a 10-week walking program on outcomes, such as blood pressure (BP), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, body mass index (BMI), 10-year cardiovascular risk, and results of a 6-minute walk test, for adult women in a rural community in New York.

A quasi-experimental study conducted 8 paired t tests of pre- and postdata using Bonferroni correction for multiple t tests. A convenience sample of 70 retained 62 to completion. Pre- and post-BMI, TC, HDL, BP, and a 6-minute walk test data were collected for each participant. Pedometer activity was collected throughout the program with computer downloads at 5 and 10 weeks. Sociodemographic variables including age, self-reported ethnicity, and educational level were used to describe the sample and trends in the data.

Age range was 29-79 years (M = 55) years. Mean pretest weight was 181 lb; mean BMI was 30.7 kg/m2. There was a statistically significant improvement (p < .05) in weight, BMI, TC, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and 6-minute walk test. All comparisons retained significance except TC after the Bonferroni correction. There was also a statistically significant increase (p < .05) in aerobic steps from midway to end of study after an incentive raffle challenge was introduced.

The data suggest that a community walking program using pedometers with tracking capabilities was successful in increasing steps and improving select cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in a group of women in a rural community in New York.