New Delhi: A new study claims that cancer patients can enhance their quality of life by walking for just thirty minutes.
The findings indicated that walking provided an improved positive attitude towards their illness and spoke of the social benefits of participating in group walks.
Researchers from the University of Surrey and King`s College London explored the impact of walking on the quality of life and symptom severity in patients with advanced cancer.
Despite growing evidence of significant health benefits of exercise to cancer patients, physical activity commonly declines considerably during treatment and remains low afterwards.
Initiatives in place to promote physical activity for those suffering with cancer are normally supervised and require travel to specialist facilities, placing an additional burden on patients.
The study was conducted on 42 cancer patients and was split into two groups.Group one received coaching from an initiative by Macmillan Cancer which included a short motivational interview, the recommendation to walk for at least 30 minutes on alternate days and attend a volunteer-led group walk weekly.
The health benefits of walking are well documented, with improved cardio vascular strength and increased energy levels.Group two were encouraged to maintain their current level of activity.
They found that those in group one, reported an improvement in physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing having completed the programme.
(With ANI inputs)
