Walking
Walking-based interventions that encompass the accumulation of daily step count goals (e.g. 10,000 steps/day) are analogous to interventions designed to increase daily physical activity levels. Evidence regarding whether the accumulation of steps over the course of a day may be beneficial for reducing BP is still limited. A meta-analysis of pedometer-based interventions pooled data from 12 studies totaling 468 participants who were mostly normotensive showed significant net reductions in systolic and diastolic BP of 3.8 mmHg and 0.3 mmHg, respectively[66]. More recently, findings from the ASUKI Step study, a pedometer-based workplace intervention with an overall goal to increase physical activity by walking 10,000 steps/day, found that BP was significantly reduced with BP changes shown to be linearly associated with steps taken[67]. These findings were consistent among the entire sample (n=355) and when the sample was restricted to non-hypertensives (n=251) and suggest the goal of walking 10,000 steps/day could be effective in reducing BP.