Walking velocity measured over 5 m as a basis of exercise prescription for the elderly: preliminary data from the Nakanojo Study

Abstract

Moderate-intensity physical activity is recommended to promote health, and augment peak oxygen transport, thus reducing the risk of chronic disease, and delaying functional loss in the elderly. The optimal method of prescribing the recommended intensity of effort [approximately 50% of oxygen intake reserve ( V(.)O(2reserve)) or heart rate reserve (HR(reserve))] remains unclear for this age group. Our aim was to develop a new field-method of prescribing exercise for the elderly, based on walking velocity measured over a 5-m distance. Walking velocities were calculated from the time taken to move from the 3-m to the 8-m mark on an 11-m, straight, flat walkway. Interrelationships of preferred and maximal walking velocities with traditional laboratory measurements [peak isometric knee-extension strength and maximal oxygen intake ( V(.)O(2max))] were examined in 10 healthy male and 13 healthy female volunteers, aged 65-74 years. Percentages of oxygen intake reserve (% V(.)O(2reserve)) and heart rate reserve (%HR(reserve)) were also determined when walking at 30-70% of maximal velocity. Preferred and maximal walking velocities were significantly correlated ( r>0.60; P<0.05), the former corresponding to an average of 53-54% of the latter in both men and women. Maximal walking velocity was significantly correlated with both peak knee-extension torque ( r>0.90; P<0.05) and V(.)O(2max) ( r>0.80; P<0.05). As a result, the % V(.)O(2reserve) and %HR(reserve) showed a regular and linear relationship to various submaximal walking velocities. For both men and women, 40-60% of the maximal walking velocity corresponded to about 30-50% of V(.)O(2reserve) and HR(reserve). Approximately 60% of the maximal walking velocity (or 110-115% of the preferred walking velocity) represents an appropriate intensity of moderate exercise for the typical elderly person. Our preliminary data suggest that a prescription based on walking velocity over the 5-m distance allows the healthy elderly to exercise simply, safely, and effectively.

Habitual Physical Activity and Physical Fitness in Older Japanese Adults: The Nakanojo Study

“…The ability of seniors to maintain a minimum velocity of walking seems linked to a good overall quality of life and functional independence [1][2][3][4][5][6] . Aoyagi et al [25] showed that in both 10 men and 13 women aged 65-74 years, the preferred and maximal walking speeds were significantly correlated with each other (r 1 0.63); the maximum oxygen intake (V ؒ O 2max ) was also correlated with both preferred (r 1 0.65) and maximal walking speeds (r 1 0.80). Various authors have suggested that the V ؒ O 2max in turn is associated with the incidence of a wide range of lifestyle-related diseases [30][31][32][33] , all-cause (primarily cardiovascular disease and cancer) mortality [34][35][36][37][38][39][40] , and the continued ability to perform aerobic activities [7,9,11,41] .…”

“…In the study of Aoya- Table 2. Age-and/or sex-adjusted correlation coefficients between selected parameters of physical fitness and year-averaged daily step count or daily duration of physical activity at >3 metabolic equivalents (METs) gi et al [25] , the peak knee extension torque, likewise, was correlated with both the preferred (r 1 0.44, p 1 0.05) and the maximal walking speeds (r 1 0.90, p ! 0.05).…”

“…Preferred and maximal walking speeds were determined over a 5-meter distance, using pressure sensors (GaitScan8000, Nitta Corp., Naniwa, Osaka, Japan) and a stopwatch (SVAE101, Seiko Corp., Minato, Tokyo, Japan), as described previously [25] . Each subject completed 2 trials for both comfortable and maximal walking speeds, with 30-second intervening rest periods.…”

Yearlong physical activity and sarcopenia in older adults: the Nakanojo Study

“…For our present purpose, we determined the daily duration of activity at an intensity of >3 METs. This is a moderate, health-promoting intensity of activity for people in this age group Shephard 2009, 2010;Aoyagi et al 2004) and is helpful in distinguishing deliberate exercise such as walking from incidental movements around the home. Subjects wore the recording device on their waist belts continuously for 1 year, between July 2002 and June 2003.…”

Habitual physical activity and health-related quality of life in older adults: interactions between the amount and intensity of activity (the Nakanojo Study)

“…Higher HRQOL scores, seen in the more active men and women, were distributed fairly evenly across the eight SF-36 domains. The daily step count and the daily duration of physical activity at an intensity [3 METs (multiples of resting metabolic rate, equivalent to about 50% of maximal oxygen intake in this age group [13,18,19]) were averaged over an entire year. Within the limits of our data, it appeared that HRQOL plateaued at surprisingly low levels of physical activity, corresponding to the second quartiles for both step count (mean 5,740 steps/day) and duration of activity [3 METs (mean 13 min/day).…”