title: An effective strategy to reduce blood pressure after forest walking in middle-aged and aged people.
abstract: [Purpose] Forest walking may be effective for human health, but little information is available about effects of energy expenditure on blood pressure responses after forest walking. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the activity energy expenditure and changes in blood pressure in individuals after forest walking. [Subjects] The subjects were 54 middle-aged and elderly people. [Methods] All subjects walked in the forest for approximately 90 min. Blood pressure, salivary amylase, and the Profile of Mood States were evaluated before and after forest walking, and activity energy expenditure was monitored throughout forest walking. Subjects were divided into two groups according to mean arterial pressure changes: a responder group (>5% decreases) and a nonresponder group (<5%). [Results] Forest walking significantly reduced the mean arterial pressure and improved the Profile of Mood States in both groups. Activity energy expenditure was related to changes in mean arterial pressure in the responder group, while this relation was not observed in the nonresponder group. Differential activity energy expenditure did not strongly affect improvement of the Profile of Mood States. [Conclusion] Greater walking-related greater activity energy expenditure might be required to accentuate physiological beneficial effects on in middle-aged and aged people. Furthermore, the forest environment per se can attenuate psychological stress.
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Environmental Science, Mt. Fuji Research Institute, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Environmental Science, Mt. Fuji Research Institute, Japan.
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Environmental Science, Mt. Fuji Research Institute, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akatsuka
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Environmental Science, Mt. Fuji Research Institute, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Environmental Science, Mt. Fuji Research Institute, Japan.
authors.forename: Eriko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Environmental Science, Mt. Fuji Research Institute, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uno
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Environmental Science, Mt. Fuji Research Institute, Japan.
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
keywords: Hypertension; Profile of Mood States; Responder and nonresponder
references.citation: Clin Exp Hypertens. 2011;33(7):478-83
references.pmid: 21978027
references.citation: Environ Health Perspect. 2011 Dec;119(12):1706-11
references.pmid: 21827977
references.citation: Circulation. 1999 Apr 27;99(16):2192-217
references.pmid: 10217662
references.citation: J Int Med Res. 2006 Mar-Apr;34(2):152-9
references.pmid: 16749410
references.citation: Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013 Mar 26;10(4):1250-67
references.pmid: 23531491
references.citation: J Phys Ther Sci. 2015 Jan;27(1):51-6
references.pmid: 25642036
references.citation: Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1987 Aug;24(2):151-62
references.pmid: 2887189
references.citation: J Abnorm Psychol. 1964 Dec;69:620-7
references.pmid: 14241709
references.citation: Environ Health Prev Med. 2010 Jan;15(1):18-26
references.pmid: 19568835
references.citation: Br J Nutr. 2004 Feb;91(2):235-43
references.pmid: 14756909
references.citation: Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2008 Apr;35(4):498-502
references.pmid: 18307749
references.citation: Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014 Oct 20;11(10):10883-901
references.pmid: 25333924
references.citation: Biosens Bioelectron. 2006 Jan 15;21(7):1007-14
references.pmid: 15871919
references.citation: Am Heart J. 2006 Jun;151(6):1322.e5-12
references.pmid: 16781245
references.citation: J Cardiol. 2012 Dec;60(6):495-502
references.pmid: 22948092
references.citation: Lancet. 2004 Sep 11-17;364(9438):953-62
references.pmid: 15364186
references.citation: Hypertension. 2002 Jan;39(1):168-72
references.pmid: 11799097
references.citation: J Physiol Anthropol. 2007 Mar;26(2):135-42
references.pmid: 17435356
references.citation: J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2004 Mar;44(1):54-62
references.pmid: 15181391
references.citation: Cardiovasc Psychiatry Neurol. 2013;2013:814967
references.pmid: 24198964
references.citation: Nihon Koshu Eisei Zasshi. 1990 Nov;37(11):913-8
references.pmid: 2132363
references.citation: J Hypertens. 2004 Oct;22(10):1881-8
references.pmid: 15361758
references.citation: Eur J Appl Physiol. 2007 Dec;102(1):33-40
references.pmid: 17879098
references.citation: Blood Press Monit. 2000 Oct-Dec;5(5-6):255-62
references.pmid: 11153048
references.citation: Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2007 Mar;292(3):R1260-70
references.pmid: 17095648