The Effects of Exclusive Walking on Lipids and Lipoproteins in Women with Overweight and Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective To evaluate the effects of walking, independent of diet and weight-loss, on lipids and lipoproteins in women with overweight and obesity. Data source Academic Search Complete, Alternative Health Watch, Global Health, Health Source, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, SportDiscus, and ProQuest. Study inclusion and exclusion criteria (1) experiment-control design; (2) women with overweight or obesity; (3) walking as the experiment's independent variable; (4) four or more weeks; and (5) pre- to post-assessment of lipids and/or lipoproteins. Excluded studies reported use of lipid-lowering medication, diet or other modes of physical activity, and alternative interventions as the control. Data extraction Data extraction and study quality were completed by the first 2 authors using the Cochrane review protocol and risk of bias assessment. Data synthesis Raw mean difference between the experiment and control groups using a random effects model. Results Meta-analyses of 21 interventions (N = 1129) demonstrated exclusive walking improves total cholesterol (raw mean difference = 6.67 mg/dL, P = .04) and low-density lipoproteins (raw mean difference = 7.38 mg/dL, P = .04). Greater improvement in total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins, and low-density lipoproteins existed in women with obesity. Conclusions Exclusive walking aids in normalizing total cholesterol and LDLs in women with overweight and obesity. Exclusive walking can be used as a non-pharmacologic therapy, which may have positive clinical outcomes for individuals who especially struggle with diet and weight-reduction.