Unraveling the unparalleled benefits of orienteering versus hiking on gait performance and cognition: A randomized clinical trial

Physical activities and sports in nature offer opportunities for leisure, health, and well-being. A randomized clinical trial (RCT) compared the effects of training, dualtask orienteering and single-task hiking in independent older adults (n = 90) allocated into three groups: orienteering group (OG), hiking group (HG) and control group (CG). Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests, including a dual-task (TUG-DT), and cognitive tests were administered. Differences were analyzed by Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) and the effect size (ES) was calculated. Unpaired and paired tests were used for the evaluation of basic differences and after 24 weeks of intervention.This RCT highlights the interaction effects between groups and time. Only the OG in TUGDT reduced by 6 s, with change of 42% (ES=0.77). Likewise, Dual TUG + cognitive stops (TUG-DT+ CS) and Dual TUG + cognitive stops + cognitive errors (TUG-DT + CS + CE), reduced 7 (ES=0.85) and 8 (ES=0.90) seconds (<0.001). The task cost improved by 75% for OG and 24% for HG (p = 0.001), with an ES of 0.56 for OG. For cognition, there was a 49.2% increase (ES=2.00) for OG and 16.5% for HG in executive functions and visuospatial skills, a 31.4% increase (ES=1.64) for OG and 14.7% for HG in processing speed, and a 39.8% increase (ES=1.62) for OG and 6.5% for HG in memory. All interactions were <0.001.The orienteering demonstrated that has potential benefits in effectively improving gait performance and preventing cognitive decline in older adults. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC): RBR-99jmmpf.