Behavior Change and Health News
Active Women Less Likely to Be Obese, Have Decreased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
A study in the May 2004 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise reports that women can become healthier by walking more. Active, middle-aged women who averaged at least 10,000 steps per day were more likely than inactive women to have healthy levels of body fat and healthy weights. Women who took fewer than 6,000 steps per day were more likely to be overweight or obese and have larger waists. Obesity is a strong indicator of increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Tip the Scales in Your Favor
Excess weight is caused by an imbalance between the calories you take in and the energy you use. In the United States, our appetites have increased and our activity levels have decreased. The key is to use more energy than you take in; you may need to change your behavior to include more physical activity.
Many Active Living Every Day participants have found a way to change their lifestyles and become more active. Walking is the most popular physical activity for people of all ages. Comments from Active Living Every Day participants indicate that many of them lost weight by increasing their walking and other forms of activity, thereby decreasing their risk for disease. Here are some Active Living successes:
- “I walk better, feel better, and have better health. I lost weight, take fewer medications, and have less depression.”
- A participant in Texas lowered her weight by more than 30 pounds through diet and increased physical activity.
- A woman in Michigan lost 20 pounds and has less pain, and her doctor took her off two medications after she completed the course.
- “My health is in control and I have lost 10 pounds, something I couldn’t do before.”
Active Living Every Day participants learn realistic ways to become more active. The program promotes walking as an activity that works for most everyone. Walking requires no special equipment, can be done almost anywhere at anytime, and is easy to do with a friend, coworker, or family member.
The women in the study wore step counters to measure their steps each day. Step counters are a fun and accurate way to find out how much you walk each day, and can help you set goals to increase your activity. As part of a Walking the Way to Health initiative, British doctors even “prescribe” step counters to encourage activity and reduce the number of deaths from heart disease.
Step counters are introduced in week 14 of Active Living Every Day. Early sessions of the course teach participants how to change their behaviors to include more activity every day. As part of an overall strategy to help participants set specific, measurable goals for themselves, step counters allow participants to see how active they really are and gradually increase their physical activity.
To learn more about Active Living Every Day, browse our main Web page at www.ActiveLiving.info. To locate a class in your area, click here.
Sources
American College of Sports Medicine. Number of daily steps impacts obesity factors in women. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise May 2004: Vol 36 no 5, p911-914.
Walking the Way to Health Initiative. Healthy promotion campaign: British doctors to prescribe pedometers. ICAA in the News Vol 13, Issue 33. www.icaa.cc
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