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ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION |
1 From the Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC (PG-L, NH, and BMP); the Epidemiology and Prevention Section, Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA (SS and BS); the Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL (CEL); the Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (DRJ); and the Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (DRJ).
2 The CARDIA Study is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (N01-HC-95095, N01-HC-48047-48050, and N01-HC-05187). The analysis was supported by NCI (R01-CA12115, R01 CA109831) and NICHD (K01-HD044263). Additional support was from NIH (R01-AA12162); the University of North Carolina (UNC)-CH Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility (NIH P30-ES10126); the UNC-CH Clinic Nutrition Research Center (NIH DK56350); the Carolina Population Center, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Coordinating Center, N01-HC-95095; the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Field Center, N01-HC-48047; the University of Minnesota, Field Center, N01-HC-48048; Northwestern University, Field Center, N01-HC-48049; the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute; and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (N01-HC-48050). 3 Reprints not available. Address correspondence to P Gordon-Larsen, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Carolina Population Center, University Square, 123 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-3997. E-mail: gordon_larsen{at}unc.edu.
Background: Although walking is the most popular leisure-time activity for adults, few long-term, longitudinal studies have examined the association between walking, an affordable and accessible form of physical activity, and weight gain.
Objective: The objective was to evaluate the association between changes in leisure-time walking and weight gain over a 15-y period.
Design: Prospective data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study of 4995 men and women aged 18–30 y at baseline (1985–1986) from 4 US cities and reexamined 2, 5, 7, 10, and 15 y later. Sex-stratified, repeated-measures, conditional regression modeling with data from all 6 examination periods (n = 23,633 observations) was used to examine associations between walking and annualized 15-y weight change, with control for 15-y nonwalking physical activity, baseline weight (and their interaction), marital status, education, smoking, calorie intake, and baseline age, race, and field center.
Results: Mean (±SE) baseline weights were 77.0 ± 0.3 kg (men) and 66.2 ± 0.3 kg (women), weight gain was 
1 kg/y, and the mean duration of walking at baseline was <15 min/d. After accounting for nonwalking physical activity, calorie intake, and other covariates, we found a substantial association between walking and annualized weight change; the greatest association was for those with a larger baseline weight. For example, for women at the 75th percentile of baseline weight, 0.5 h of walking/d was associated with 8 kg less weight gain over 15 y compared with women with no leisure time walking.
Conclusion: Walking throughout adulthood may attenuate the long-term weight gain that occurs in most adults.
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  M. E Nelson and S. C Folta Further evidence for the benefits of walking Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, January 1, 2009; 89(1): 15 - 16. [Full Text] [PDF]
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