Association between Walking and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in University Employees

Abstract

Walking is the simplest form of physical activity for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between walking and cardiovascular risk factors in a working adult population. Walking activity was assessed using a pedometer worn over three consecutive days. Anthropometric measurements of height, weight, waist circumference, as well as blood pressure, fasting glucose and lipid concentrations were also determined. In this cross-sectional study, 112 employees (aged 21-65 years, 64% females, Mean±SD BMI: 26.08±4.55 kg mG 2 ) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Kampus Kuala Lumpur were recruited. On average, participants recorded 7521±3723 steps per day, which was below the recommended target of 10,000 steps per day. About 24 and 33% of employees were categorized as sedentary (<5000 steps/day) and low active (5000-7499 steps dayG 1 ), respectively. Only 17% of the participants achieved the recommended 10,000 steps dayG 1 . There were no differences observed in daily walking steps between gender, BMI categories, job categories and age groups. Mean waist circumference for males (92.4±10.67 cm) and females (82.8±10.5 cm) were higher than normal. Other metabolic indices such as blood pressure, glucose and lipid levels appeared to be within normal values. Except for triglycerides, no significant correlation in between the number of steps and other metabolic indices were observed. In conclusion, the level of physical activity in the studied population was categorized as sedentary or low active and generally were not related with adverse risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Notwithstanding, an awareness program to increase the level of physical activity through walking is much encouraged in this population.

Pedometer-Measured Walking Steps and Levels of Physical Activity: A Study in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu

“…Overall, only 6.7% of respondents followed the recommended steps for public health, that is 10,000 steps or more. This current study deviates from the study done by Abdullah et al (2015) which showed almost 17% of the respondents from 112 university employees in Kuala Lumpur achieved the recommended steps goal for public health. Several researchers have called into question the 10,000 steps a day because 10,000 walking steps are typically not practicable through normal day-to-day routines among average people (Choi et al, 2007).…”

The Relationship Between Daily Steps and Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Teachers in Central Region, Malaysia

“…However, the overall waist circumference and body mass index was slightly higher than normal from the normal range. This probably happened due to the majority of subjects are overweight and obese, an observation that is similar to other studies involving female populations (Poh et al, 2010;Abdullah et al, 2015). Previous studied proved that individuals who achieved 10 000 steps per day have a normal body weight whereas individuals with have a step less than 5000 steps per day are overweight or obesity (Dwyer et al, 2007;Tudor-Locke et al, 2010).…”

“…The percentage of those who recorded less than 5000 steps/day was 35%. Our findings indicate that the average daily steps among our study sample was slightly higher compared with a group of university employees in Kuala Lumpur (Abdullah et al, 2015). Our study sample also recorded an average daily steps much higher compared with other studies (Tudor-Locke et al, 2004;Wyatt et al, 2005).…”

Relationship between physical activity and musculoskeletal disorders among low income housewives in Kuala Lumpur: A cross sectional study

“…This is because housekeeping, such as cleaning, cooking, and babysitting, requires a low to moderate degree of effort. Being physical active is important to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease [ 40 , 41 ].…”