Graduation Date
Spring 2017
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Kinesiology, option Exercise Science
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Justus Ortega
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Dr. Boe Burrus
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Aging; Walking economy; Bicycling
Subject Categories
Kinesiology
Abstract
Impaired walking performance is a key determinant of morbidity among older adults. A distinctive characteristic of impaired walking performance among older adults is a greater metabolic cost compared to young adults. Specifically, healthy older adults have been shown to have a 15-20% greater metabolic cost of walking compared to young adults. However, a recent study suggests that older adults who routinely run for exercise have a lower metabolic cost of walking compared to older adults who walk for exercise. Yet, it remains unclear if other aerobic exercises such as bicycling elicits similar improvements on walking metabolic cost among older adults. The purpose of this study was to determine if regular bicycling exercise affects metabolic cost of walking in older adults. We measured metabolic rate while 33 older adults “bicyclists” or “walkers” and 16 young adults walked on a level treadmill at four speeds between (0.75-1.75 m/s). We compared metabolic cost in the three groups. Across the range of walking speeds, older bicyclists had a 9-17% lower metabolic cost of walking compared to older walkers (p=.009) and similar metabolic cost of walking compared to young adults (p=1.00). In conclusion, bicycling exercise mitigates the age-related deterioration of walking metabolic cost, whereas walking for exercise appears to have a minimal effect on improving metabolic cost of walking in older adults. We suspect the greater aerobic intensity of bicycling exercise may maintain muscle mitochondrial efficiency in aging and thus helps explain the lower metabolic cost of walking in older bicyclists versus older walkers.
Citation Style
Physiological Reviews
Recommended Citation
Aslan, Daniel Hugo, "The effects of bicycling exercise on the metabolic cost of walking in older adults" (2017). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 44.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/44