Cardiovascular response to brisk walking on different surfaces in an innovative senior playground: a randomized trial in older adults

ABSTRACTBrisk walking is a simple exercise for older adults. We aimed to assess the cardiovascular response to a short bout of brisk walking on walking loops in an innovative senior playground in Thailand. Twenty older adults were randomly assigned to brisk walking on artificial turf (AT group, n = 10) or an uneven surface (US group, n = 10). We assessed cardiovascular parameters, average walking speed, and rate of perceived exertion. Blood pressure, heart rate, rate-pressure product, and rate perceived exertion were significantly increased, while the mean RR interval of heart rate variability was significantly decreased in both AT and US groups after exercise compared with pre-exercise (p < 0.05). A greater change in systolic blood pressure was observed in the US group than in the AT group (p < 0.05). These data indicated that brisk walking on AT and US increases cardiovascular response. Our findings provide information on planning exercise programs for older adults.KEYWORDS: Cardiovascular responsescardiac autonomic functionbrisk walkingolder adultssenior playground AcknowledgementsThis work and innovation activity was supported by the National Research Council of Thailand under Grant number FND2564/001. We thank Analisa Avila, MPH, ELS, from Edanz (www.edanz.com/ac) for editing a draft of this manuscript.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Author contributionsConceptualization: M.J., J.L., A.S., T.S., N.K., P.P., and A.K.; Funding acquisition: J.L. and A.S.; Methodology and Investigation: M.J., A.K., N.K., and P.P.; Data curation: M.J. and A.K.; Formal analysis: M.J. and A.K.; Visualization: M.J., T.S., and A.K.; Validation: M.J. and A.K.; Writing – original draft: M.J. and A.K.; Writing – review and editing: M.J., J.L., A.S., T.S., N.K., P.P., and A.K.; Project administration and supervision: J.L.Supplementary materialSupplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2023.2264804.Additional informationFundingThis work and innovation activity was funded by the National Research Council of Thailand under Grant number FND2564/001.