Horiuchi Masahiro, Endo Junko, Akatsuka Shin, Hasegawa Tatsuya, Yamamoto Eriko, Uno Tadashi, Kikuchi Sachiko
Division of Human Environmental Science, Mt. Fuji Research Institute, Japan.
J Phys Ther Sci. 2015 Dec;27(12):3711-6. doi: 10.1589/jpts.27.3711. Epub 2015 Dec 28.
[Purpose] Forest walking may be effective for human health, but little information is available about effects of energy expenditure on blood pressure responses after forest walking. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the activity energy expenditure and changes in blood pressure in individuals after forest walking. [Subjects] The subjects were 54 middle-aged and elderly people. [Methods] All subjects walked in the forest for approximately 90 min. Blood pressure, salivary amylase, and the Profile of Mood States were evaluated before and after forest walking, and activity energy expenditure was monitored throughout forest walking. Subjects were divided into two groups according to mean arterial pressure changes: a responder group (>5% decreases) and a nonresponder group (<5%). [Results] Forest walking significantly reduced the mean arterial pressure and improved the Profile of Mood States in both groups. Activity energy expenditure was related to changes in mean arterial pressure in the responder group, while this relation was not observed in the nonresponder group. Differential activity energy expenditure did not strongly affect improvement of the Profile of Mood States. [Conclusion] Greater walking-related greater activity energy expenditure might be required to accentuate physiological beneficial effects on in middle-aged and aged people. Furthermore, the forest environment per se can attenuate psychological stress.
[目的] 森林漫步可能对人类健康有益，但关于森林漫步后能量消耗对血压反应的影响，目前所知甚少。本研究旨在探讨森林漫步后个体活动能量消耗与血压变化之间的关系。[对象] 研究对象为54名中老年人。[方法] 所有受试者在森林中行走约90分钟。在森林漫步前后评估血压、唾液淀粉酶和情绪状态量表，并且在整个森林漫步过程中监测活动能量消耗。根据平均动脉压变化将受试者分为两组：反应者组（降低>5%）和无反应者组（降低<5%）。[结果] 两组森林漫步后平均动脉压均显著降低，情绪状态量表得分均有所改善。反应者组的活动能量消耗与平均动脉压变化有关，而无反应者组未观察到这种关系。不同的活动能量消耗对情绪状态量表得分的改善没有强烈影响。[结论] 对于中老年人，可能需要更大的与行走相关的活动能量消耗，以增强对生理的有益影响。此外，森林环境本身可以减轻心理压力。
