Long Term Effect of Morning Walk on Selected Health Indicators in Bengali Men

Abstract

Abstract
Background:The researcher motivated a group of Govt. servant to start morning walk for the benefit of their health &fitness. At the very outset researcher discuss and assured them to monitor the training program targeted for the improvement of their health & fitness status and at the same time he thought to conduct a research work on them.
Objective:The objective of this research work was to find out the effectiveness of morning walk on WHR, BMI, BP and RHR in Bengali men under the age of 40 years.
Methods:Total thirty (N = 30) male Govt. servant, few office workers & few school teachers, were considered as subject for the present study. They were purposefully divided into two equal groups –One group was treated as experimental group (n=15) another group was treated as control group (n=15). The age of the subjects were ranged from 35 to 40 years. The subjects of experimental group were motivated and all the subjects were participated spontaneously in the morning work program followed by some free-hand and starching exercises for a period of 32 weeks. On the other hand the subjects of the control group were chosen from the same pair population of the age group who were not any history of participation in regular physical activity. Therefore, the control group was free from the morning walk program.In the present study WHR, BMI, BP and RHR were considered as variables.Data were collected in Pre intervention and Post intervention of the morning walk program both for the experimental as well as control group by using standard tools & techniques. To draw the inferences the data were analyzed by using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). It was tested at p < 0.05 level of significance.
Results:A significant improvement was observed in BMI, WHR, BP (systolic blood pressure & diastolic blood pressure) and resting heart rate of less than forty year men.
Conclusion:Regular morning workings have significant impact onWHR, BMI, BP and RHR.
Keywords: Body Mass Index (BMI), Resting Heart Rate (RHR), Blood Pressure (BP), Waist Hip Ratio (WHR).

Full text

© 2020 |Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 135
Journal of Advances in Sports and Physical Education
Abbreviated Key Title: J Adv Sport Phys Edu
ISSN 2616-8642 (Print) |ISSN 2617-3905 (Online)
Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Journal homepage: https://saudijournals.com/jaspe
Original Research Article
Long Term Effect of Morning Walk on Selected Health Indicators in
Bengali Men
Dr. Sandip Sankar Ghosh*
Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia West Bengal, India
DOI: 10.36348/jaspe.2020.v03i08.005 | Received: 30.07.2020 | Accepted: 06.08.2020 | Published: 09.08.2020
*Corresponding author: Dr. Sandip Sankar Ghosh
Abstract
Background: The researcher motivated a group of Govt. servant to start morning walk for the benefit of their health &
fitness. At the very outset researcher discuss and assured them to monitor the training program targeted for the
improvement of their health & fitness status and at the same time he thought to conduct a research work on them.
Objective: The objective of this research work was to find out the effectiveness of morning walk on WHR, BMI, BP and
RHR in Bengali men under the age of 40 years. Methods: Total thirty (N = 30) male Govt. servant, few office workers &
few school teachers, were considered as subject for the present study. They were purposefully divided into two equal
groups – One group was treated as experimental group (n=15) another group was treated as control group (n=15). The
age of the subjects were ranged from 35 to 40 years. The subjects of experimental group were motivated and all the
subjects were participated spontaneously in the morning work program followed by some free-hand and starching
exercises for a period of 32 weeks. On the other hand the subjects of the control group were chosen from the same pair
population of the age group who were not any history of participation in regular physical activity. Therefore, the control
group was free from the morning walk program. In the present study WHR, BMI, BP and RHR were considered as
variables. Data were collected in Pre intervention and Post intervention of the morning walk program both for the
experimental as well as control group by using standard tools & techniques. To draw the inferences the data were
analyzed by using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). It was tested at p < 0.05 level of significance. Results: A
significant improvement was observed in BMI, WHR, BP (systolic blood pressure & diastolic blood pressure) and resting
heart rate of less than forty year men. Conclusion: Regular morning workings have significant impact on WHR, BMI,
BP and RHR.
Keywords: Body Mass Index (BMI), Resting Heart Rate (RHR), Blood Pressure (BP), Waist Hip Ratio (WHR).
Copyright @ 2020: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use (NonCommercial, or CC-BY-NC) provided the original author and source
are credited.
INTRODUCTION
We are living in Cyber Age. The art or mode
of human living and the status have already been geared
up to an optimum stage i.e. sophisticated mechanized
life style. Such changes in life style, however,
obviously resulted in a reduced physical labor and on
the other hand increase in mental stress and strain [1, 2].
Ingestion of artificial food components, random use of
pesticides and synthetic components in different form
and sources in modern life style creates numerous
health hazards as well as psycho-physiological
disorders in human being [3]. The Asians, especially the
Indians tend to have greater waist circumference in
adulthood and consequently the waist hip ratio (WHR),
and another most important factor BMI is related to the
risk of hypo-kinetic diseases [4-6]. Among the other
factors BP and PP are also very good indicators of good
health.
Regular physical conditioning is considered to
be one of the most important, effective and valuable
tools available for man to overcome various physical
and psychological problems [7, 8]. Physical
conditioning helps the whole body to enable it to
withstand greater stress and strain. Physical
conditioning aims at an integrated and harmonious
development of all the potentialities of man. The
physical exercise is among the empirically supported
treatments that can be both a proactive and reactive
measure to enhance psychological and physical well-
being. In recent years, more emphasis has been placed
on regular participation in physical exercise. The
benefits of exercise have become evident across the
health and wellness continuum. Thus Present study was

Sandip Sankar Ghosh; J Adv Sport Phys Edu, August, 2020; 3(8): 135-138
© 2020 |Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 136
an attempt to investigate the effect of physical
conditioning on selected physical variables of middle
aged Bengali male. Therefore, the purpose of the
present study was to find out the effectiveness of
physical conditioning on selected health indicators i.e.
WHR, BMI and BP and RHR of less than forty years
Bengali male government servants.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Subjects: Total thirty (N = 30) male Govt.
servant, few office workers & few school teachers, were
considered as subject for the present study. They were
purposefully divided into two equal groups – One group
was treated as experimental group (n=15) another group
was treated as control group (n=15). The age of the
subjects were ranged from 35 to 40 years. Those
subjects having history of cardiac disease and history of
lung disease were not included as subjects for the
present study. The subjects were not any history of
sports participation they were basically habituated with
sedentary life style. Consent of voluntary participation
was taken from all the subjects.
Variable Studied: In this study following
variables were studied viz.: 1) Waist Hip Ratio (WHR)
2) Body Mass Index (BMI) 3) Blood Pressure (BP) -
Systolic & Diastolic Blood Pressure 4) Resting Heart
Rate (RHR).
Measuring Procedure: Height and Weight were
measured by Anthropometric rod and Digital Weighing
machine (TanitaTM, Model: BC-554). Body mass index
was measured as weight (in kilograms) divided by
height (in meters) squared i.e.
Blood pressures were measured by Digital
Pressure Monitor (OmronTM). Waist Hip Ratio were
calculated by measuring Waist circumference and Hip
circumference by steel tape (Freeman’s)
  

(RHR): Each subject was allowed to take rest
at recumbent position for a minimum period of half an
hour so that the pulse rate might come down to a steady
state. At the end of this period of initial rest, resting
heart rate was measured by counting the beats for 1
minute feeling the palpation of the radial artery.
Experimental Protocol: The researcher
motivated a group of Govt. servant to start morning
walk for the benefit of their health & fitness. At the
very outset researcher discuss and assured them to
monitor their improvement of health & fitness and at
the same time researcher thought to conduct a research
work on them by taking their consents. Prior to the
intervention of physical conditioning, the researcher
ensured by medical check-up, to confirm whether the
subjects of experimental group were able to practice in
the morning walking as scheduled for the study. The
subjects of experimental group were motivated and all
the subjects were participated spontaneously in the
morning work program followed by some free-hand and
starching exercises everyday from 5.30am to 6.45 am in
an open field for a period of 32 weeks. All the subjects
were involved in the schedule for 1h – 1h&15minutes
daily. Subjects were allowed one day rest in a week
according to their own choice but very few of them
seldom took this opportunity as they were very
interested and enjoyed the walking sessions. Depending
on the field condition, sometimes, they even walked on
the road. The speed of walk was gradually increased by
manipulating the walking distance time to time. The
walking distance was so manipulated that their step
count should gradually increase with respect to time.
The timings of their walking pace were entered into
excel sheet weekly and the improvements were
monitored by the researcher continuously. According to
that data sheet frequency of steps were also monitored
by electronic fitness Band. Every day after walking, 15
minutes were set to exercise in free-hand and stretching
with a view to improve the joint mobility, flexibility
and muscle stretch ability and helps the participants to
cooling down quickly from the exhaustion
simultaneously. On the other hand the subjects of the
control group were chosen from the same pair of
population of the same age group who was not any
history of participation in regular physical activity.
Therefore, the control group was free from the morning
walk program.
Collection of Data: Data were collected in two
stages on all thirty subjects, in first stage it was
collected prior to the starting of morning walk training
program i.e. in Pre intervention, and in the second stage
it was collected just after the 32 week of training i.e. in
Post intervention of the morning walk program.
Statistical analysis: In the present study for the
sake of analysis of data mean and standard deviation of
the variables were calculated. To draw the inferences on
pre & post intervention data analysis of covariance
(ANCOVA) was used. It was tested at p < 0.05 level of
significance.
RESULTS
In Table-2 the mean and standard deviation, of
Age (in years), Height (in meters), weight (in
kilograms), have been presented.

Sandip Sankar Ghosh; J Adv Sport Phys Edu, August, 2020; 3(8): 135-138
© 2020 |Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 137
Table-1: Descriptive statistics (Age, Height, and Body weight) of the subjects of both Groups
Name of the Variable
Experimental Group
Mean ± SD
Control Group
Mean ± SD
Pre Test
Post Test
Pre Test
Post Test
Age (years)
38.42 ± 2.44
39.04 ± 2.44
37.15 ± 2.06
37.77 ± 2.06
Height (cm.)
166.26 ± 8.52
166.24 ± 8.53
168.23 ± 7.52
168.45 ± 7.56
Weight (Kg.)
79.21 ± 10.44
73.45 ± 8.74
75.42 ± 8.22
75.83 ± 7.61
In table-2 the analyses of covariance of different variables, i.e. BMI, WHR, BP (Systolic & Diastolic) and RHR
have been presented.
Table-2: Analysis of covariance on different variables of experimental and control group
Name of the
variables
Test
Experimental
Group
(Mean ± SD)
Control
Group
(Mean ± SD)
Source of
variance
Sum of
squares
Mean
squares
df
‘F’
Ratio
BMI (kg/m2)
Baseline
25.76 ± 4.33
27.04 ± 1.35
Between
12.19
12.1916
1
1.18
Within
288.01
10.2943
28
Post
Treatment
24.94 ± 4.33
26.85 ± 1.41
Between
27.46
27.4632
1
2.65
Within
290.16
10.3636
28
Adjusted
post test
25.57
26.22
Between
3.00
03.0012
1
15.04*
Within
5.39
00.2014
27
WHR
Baseline
0.9653 ± 0.0092
0.9720 ±
0.0067
Between
0.0003
0.00034
1
5.15*
Within
0.0018
00.0001
28
Post
Treatment
0.9673± 0.0088
0.9706 ±
0.0103
Between
0.0004
00.0006
1
6.90*
Within
0.0025
00.0001
28
Adj. post est
0.9670
0.9710
Between
0.0001
00.0007
1
5.69*
Within
0.0026
00.0001
27
Systolic BP
(mm.Hg)
Baseline
142.33 ±5.22
142.33±6.74
Between
0.0001
00.0001
1
0.00
Within
1270.67
45.3800
28
Post
Treatment
133.13 ±4.29
141.47±5.90
Between
520.83
520.8301
1
19.56*
Within
745.47
26.6216
28
Adj. post test
133.13
141,47
Between
520.83
520.834
1
29.71*
Within
473.37
17.5325
27
Diastolic BP
(mm.Hg)
Baseline
91.87 ± 4.22
91.87 ± 4.88
Between
0.0001
00.0002
1
0.00
Within
667.47
23.8412
28
Post
Treatment
81.73 ± 3.51
91.27 ± 4.48
Between
681.63
681.6322
1
42.05*
Within
453.87
16.2112
28
Adj. post test
81.73
91.27
Between
681.63
681.6334
1
54.84*
Within
335.57
12.4342
27
RHR
(Beats/min)
Baseline
76.93 ± 3.72
76.93 ± 3.39
Between
0.0001
00.0001
1
0.00
Within
5762.13
205.7913
28
Post
Treatment
73.87 ± 3.81
76.60 ± 3.25
Between
56.03
56.0316
1
4.47*
Within
351.33
12.5503
28
Adj. post test
73.87
76.60
Between
56.03
56.0301
1
4.25*
Within
358.31
13.2006
27
*Sign indicates Significant Difference, F0.05 (1,28) = 4.20, F0.05(1,27) = 4.21
From table-2 it is evident that a significant
improvement was observed in BMI, WHR BP (systolic
blood pressure & diastolic blood pressure) and RHR in
adjusted posttest value for the experimental group.
DISCUSSION
In the present study analyses of the data
revealed that a significant improvement was observed
in BMI, WHR, BP (systolic blood pressure & diastolic
blood pressure) and RHR of the under forty Bengali
male. The increased risk of hypo-kinetic diseases
associated with increasing heart rate existed across all
categories of BMI, WHR, BP and RHR [9, 10]. The
combinations of high heart rate and high BMI, WHR or
BP level were associated with a substantially increased
risk of developing hypo-kinetic diseases [11, 4, 12]. In
the present study as the morning walking schedule;
decreased the BMI, WHR Resting heart rate (RHR) and
BP it would obviously reduce the risk of hypo-kinetic
diseases. The findings of the study based on resting
heart rate, BMI and BP are generally in agreement with
the results of previous studies [13-16, 18]. Thus such
type of physical conditioning program can be used as a
therapeutic modality to control the factors responsible
for hypo-kinetic diseases. So, it is recommended across
the middle aged population of the country, those who
are habituated in a sedentary life style, to be involving
themselves in morning walking along with free-hand
exercises including stretching. It would obviously
improve the health status and will also help to avoid
CVD and other hypo-kinetic diseases.

Sandip Sankar Ghosh; J Adv Sport Phys Edu, August, 2020; 3(8): 135-138
© 2020 |Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 138
CONCLUSION
On the basis of result it can be concluded that
participation in monitored morning walk along with
free-hand & stretching exercise program in regular
basis improves BMI, WHR, BP (Systolic & Diastolic)
and RHR. On the basis of reduction of these health
indicators it can also be concluded that the overall
status of the health will also be improved. One can also
be able to avoid the hypo- kinetic diseases and risk of
coronary heart diseases also.
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