Senior walking outside

In two 12-week, pedometer-based walking interventions, researchers found long-term health benefits for adults aged 45 to 75 years, with sustained increases in physical activity at three-to-four years and fewer cardiovascular events and fractures.

The randomized controlled trials involved about 1,300 participants in primary care who kept activity diaries and received support by mail or from a nurse during in-person consultations. Participants were followed using long-term data from primary health records at four years, said the investigators, who hail from St. George’s University of London and other institutions. The researchers aimed to increase step count and physical activity long-term. 

Those in the intervention groups showed sustained increases in physical activity and were less likely to have a cardiovascular event or a fracture than those in the control groups. In contrast, no differences were seen in the incidence of diabetes or depression, the researchers wrote.

“Short-term walking interventions can produce long-term health benefits and should be more widely used to help address the public health inactivity challenge,” concluded lead author Tess Harris, M.D.