Comparison of walking recommendations in previously inactive women.

PURPOSE

To compare the number of steps accumulated by women instructed to walk 10,000 steps per day (10K group) with those told to take a brisk 30-min walk on most, preferably all, days of the week (30-min group).

METHODS

Daily steps were compared for 58 sedentary women (mean age 45.0+/-6.0 yr) randomly assigned to either the 10K or the 30-min group. Subjects wore a sealed pedometer for 2 wk for baseline physical activity assessment. Those averaging <or=7000 steps per day were randomly assigned to a group for the 4-wk intervention. All subjects wore a sealed pedometer capable of storing 7 d of data, and reported to the laboratory each week so that investigators could gather step counts. The 10K group wore a second pedometer for viewing their daily steps.

RESULTS

There were no differences (P>0.05) between the groups for baseline steps. During the intervention, there was a significant difference (P<0.005) between groups in daily steps. The 30-min group walked 8270+/-354 steps per day, and the 10K group walked 10,159+/-292 steps per day. The 30-min group averaged 9505+/-326 steps per day on the days that a 30-min walk occurred, and 5597+/-363 steps per day when no walk occurred (P<0.05). The 10K group averaged 11,775+/-207 steps on days when they walked at least 10,000 steps, and 7780+/-231 steps on days that their target was not achieved (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Women walk more when told to take 10,000 steps per day compared with those instructed to take a brisk 30-min walk. On days when women took a 30-min walk, their average step count was near 10,000.