Brisk walking to improve quality of life of high technology industrial workers: a randomised control trial

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of short periods of brisk walking on the quality of life (QOL) of workers in high technology industries. 86 workers were recruited from a high technology company in northern Taiwan who had not participated in regular physical activity within the last three months. They were randomly assigned to an experimental group (EG: Males=16, Females=25; mean age=33.34±6.40) and a control group (CG: Males=27, Females=18; mean age=29.40±3.59). The EG received an eight-week brisk walking intervention twice per week, each session covering the same distance (6km) with durations of 45 to 60 minutes, and maintaining the intensity at 60 to 90% of maximum heart rate (HRmax). The CG continued their normal daily routine. The Taiwanese version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) was administered pre- and post-test to both groups. The eight-week brisk walking intervention programme enhanced the physical health domain (p<0.05), psychological health domain (p<0.01), environment domain (p<0.01) and the overall QOL (p<0.01) of the workers in high technology industries. The findings may be useful for future workplace health promotions in high technology industries.

Keywords: Brisk walking; Physical health; Workplace health promotions; Taiwan