30 min/day, 3 days/wk of cadence-based ‘pick up the pace’ (PUP) walking to increase speed/intensity

Participants first determined normal cadence during a 10 min walk (accumulated steps/10 min); normal cadence then multiplied by 1.1 (ie, 10% increase) to provide PUP training cadence

Average walking speed (km/hour) for PUP walking, non-PUP walking on PUP days and non-PUP days:

• Week 1—5.2±0.7, 3.2±0.5, and 3.1±0.4

• Week 4—5.4±0.7, 3.2±0.5, and 3.1±0.3

• Week 12—5.7±0.8, 3.0±0.5, and 3.3±0.4

Heart rate response to modified Bruce protocol significantly lower (data presented only in figure)

Haemoglobin A1c decreased (−0.35±0.55%), but was not statistically different

Lifestyle goals (LG; n=17) targeting individualised daily total step count;

Structured goals (SG; n=13) targeting bout steps, defined as walking for ≥10 min at ≥60 steps/min

LG group significantly increased total steps (2122±3179, P=0.01), whereas SG group failed to reach statistical significance (1697±3564, P=0.11). No between-group difference (P=0.73)

Both groups significantly (P<0.05) increased bout steps (1783±2741 vs 2101±2815 for LG and SG, respectively). No between-group difference (P=0.76)

Self-selected goal (SELF, n=60)

A goal of 10 000 steps per day (FREQUENCY, n=60)

A goal of 3000 steps in 30 min (CADENCE, n=60)

CADENCE group engaged in similar levels of MVPA compared with SELF and FREQUENCY groups

CADENCE group more likely to engage in bouts of MVPA>10 min compared with SELF (P=0.01) and FREQUENCY (P=0.001) groups

Manual pulse (n=8)

HR monitor (n=9)—using heart rate reserve (HRR) (≥40% of HRR) to achieve moderate intensity

Pedometer (n=8)—targeting 100 steps/min to achieve moderate intensity

Only HR monitor and pedometer groups increased total aerobic exercise time as measured by HR monitor (both P<0.01)

No group improved the time spent at MVPA (≥40% of HRR)

No group improved the ability to correctly identify moderate intensity, but an observed tendency in pedometer group (P=0.07)

Individualised walking cadence prescription using pedometer (n=20)—achieving moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity in 10 min bouts

Control group (n=22)— walking at a moderate-to-vigorous intensity in 10 min bouts at least 150 min/wk without any additional information

Increased time at moderate intensity and 10 min bout moderate intensity were found only in the intervention group compared with baseline (P≤0.01)

Supervised treadmill-walking programme (n=33)–3 days/week, intermittent walking at ~2 mph for 15 min/session (first 2 weeks) progressing to 40 min (final 2 weeks)

Home-based walking programme (n=29)—3 days/week, intermittent walking at self-selected speed for 20 min/session (first 2 weeks) progressing to 45 min (final 2 weeks)

) Control group—usual care (n=30)

Home-based walking programme resulted in significant differences both within (P<0.01) and between groups (P<0.01) (ie, control group)

• Daily average (2.2±4.0 vs −0.6±3.6 steps/min)

• Maximum 20 min (6.6±12.2 vs −3.8±13.8)

• Maximum 30 min (6.8±11.4 vs −3.6±10.6)

• Maximum 60 min (5.0±9.4 vs −2.6±8.4)

Cadence indicators (change-scores) home-based vs control group (all P<0.01)

No significant within-group or between-group changes in cadence indicators for supervised treadmill-walking and control groups

Diet and PA intervention targeting MVPA time ≥40 min/day, 5 days/wk

Diet and PA intervention targeting MVPA time ≥40 min/day, 5 days/wk+reducing TV time ≤10 hours/week

Aerobic steps/day (ie, cadence >60 steps/min in ≥10 min bouts) Increased (baseline: 662±1008 steps/day; 8 weeks: 2514±2105 steps/day; P=0.001)

Aerobic min/day increased (baseline: 6.0±14.9 min; 4 weeks: 25.7±27.0 min, P<0.05; and 8 weeks: 22.5±28.3; P>0.05)

Aerobic steps/min (cadence) increased (baseline: 60±53.8 steps/min; 4 weeks: 109±23.0 steps/min, P<0.05; and 8 weeks: 100±36.0 steps/min, P>0.05)

Participants exceeded 100 steps/min for 89% of their aerobic minutes

Intervention (n=29) - daily feedback about walking activity, including: walking time, steps/day, average cadence, longest bout duration, number of ‘long’ walking bouts

Control (n=28)—no feedback

No significant between-group differences in change in walking time, number of steps, longest bout duration or number of long walking bouts for the feedback group compared with the control group (P>0.20).

Intervention group significantly increased average cadence (76.3 (95% CI 72.9 to 79.8) to 81.1 (77.9 to 84.4) steps/min) compared with control group (76.0 (72.3 to 79.6) to 77.0 (73.7 to 80.3) steps/min; P=0.013, for between-group comparison)

Diet education and behaviour change (DE)

Diet education plus a pedometer-based PA intervention (DE+PA); step goal of 8300–9100 steps/day (including 30 min/day MVPA)

No significant difference for changes in steps/day between groups

DE+PA group accumulated significantly more steps in the 80–99, 100–119 and 120+ cadence bands at postintervention (all P<0.02)

DE+PA group increased peak 30 and 60 min cadences and steps accumulated within the 100–119 (463±1092 vs56±546 steps; P=0.01) and 120+ (390±999 vs 34±321 steps; P=0.03) cadence bands compared with DE group