The objective of our study was to investigate the effects of a home-based walking program on physical fitness and QOL among community residents. Subjects (n = 200, mean age 64.2 years, range 42 to 75 years) who participated in the 32-week trial were randomly allocated to one of two groups: an exercise (E) group and a control (C) group. The E group was instructed to increase the number of steps a day that they walked and to perform aerobic walking at a target heart rate for 20 minutes or more daily, 2 or more days a week. The C group was told to continue their normal level of activity. Outcome measures were the 3-minute shuttle stamina walk test (SSWT), 30-second chair-stand test (CS-30), and SF-36. Increases in SSWT values were significantly greater in the E group than in the C group (men 24.1 m versus 6.3 m; women 8.8 m versus 2.4 m), as were increases in CS-30 values (men 5.9 versus 2.6; women 4.5 versus -0.1). On the SF-36, the scores in the E group for vitality and mental health increased significantly. Home-based walking is considered to be an effective and feasible method to improve physical fitness and QOL among community residents.

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