There is evidence that walking groups have wide-ranging health benefits .
The evidence was less clear for other outcomes such as waist circumference fasting glucose , SF-36 ( mental health ) and serum lipids such as high-density lipids .
There were no notable adverse side effects reported in any of the studies .
CONCLUSIONS Walking groups are effective and safe with good adherence and wide-ranging health benefits .
They could be a promising intervention as an adjunct to other healthcare or as a proactive health-promoting activity
OBJECTIVE To assess the health benefits of  outdoor walking groups .
Walking for exercise--does three times per week influence risk factors in type 2 diabetes?
In order to assess the effects of regular walking on metabolic control and cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes 26 patients from one primary care clinic , aged 60.0+/-7.3 years , participated in a walking program during 4 months . Prescribed exercise was walking for 45 - 60 min three times weekly . A control group of 26 patients from a neighboring primary care clinic , aged 59.3+/-6.2 years , received no exercise instructions . Thus , r and omization was not performed . There were no improvements of blood pressure , body mass index , physical fitness , glycated hemoglobin A1c , fasting plasma glucose or insulin by intention-to-treat analysis . Seventeen patients in the intervention group increased their physical activity and improved systolic blood pressure ; -7.6 mmHg ( -15 to -0.2 ) , diastolic blood pressure ; -4.3 mmHg ( -7.4 to -1.2 ) , body mass index ; -0.6 kg/m2 ( -1.1 to -0.1 ) and total plasma cholesterol ; -0.6 mmol/l ( -0.9 to -0.3 ) , ( mean difference , with 95 % CI ) . We could observe no effects on glucose metabolism in either group . Our results suggest that an increase of regular physical activity  equivalent to 45 min of walking 3 days/week may suffice to improve systolic and diastolic blood pressure , lipid metabolism and BMI in patients with type 2 diabetes
There is evidence that walking groups have wide-ranging health benefits .
The evidence was less clear for other outcomes such as waist circumference fasting glucose , SF-36 ( mental health ) and serum lipids such as high-density lipids .
There were no notable adverse side effects reported in any of the studies .
CONCLUSIONS Walking groups are effective and safe with good adherence and wide-ranging health benefits .
They could be a promising intervention as an adjunct to other healthcare or as a proactive health-promoting activity
OBJECTIVE To assess the health benefits of  outdoor walking groups .