Dr.Biol., Professor S.I. Loginov¹
PhD A.S. Kintyukhin¹
PhD, Associate Professor M.Ya. Braginsky¹
PhD, Associate Professor A.S. Snigirev^1
1Surgut State University, Surgut

Walking is ranked high in the modern health physical education toolkit, with its intensity classifiable as follows: low (health maintenance) under 3 MET; moderate 3 to 6 MET (physical fitness keeping); and high in excess of 6 MET (for physical progress). However, effects of the walking pace – the stride length, rhythm and frequency – are still not always clear enough. The latter two parameters are referred to herein as the walking cadence (steps/min) [5] that is automatically developed by every individual depending on the preference. We sampled students (n=37, aged 19.8±1.95 years, including 18 females) to rate the walking cadence versus metabolic cost within 3-6 MET range. The sample was tested by a stepped treadmill test at 2-7km/h, with 5min practice at every speed step to obtain the oxygen demand rate, respiration rate, heart rate, and pace parameters (full step time, mode amplitude, walking index, specific step time, support contact time, aerial time); plus anthropometric characteristics including the leg length, body length and body mass. The test rates were found to grow with the walking speed (t test, p <0.05). The energy demand (E, MET) to walking cadence (WC, step/min) was found gender-unspecific as reflected by the following equation: E = 3.31-0.044WC + 0.004WC2, where E is the energy demand in MET, WC is the walking cadence in steps/min; 0.044 and 0.004 are the empirical ratios (note: metabolic equivalent of physical activity, where 1 MET = 1.0 kcal/h/kg or 3.5 ml O2 /min/kg). The walking index was found to grow with the walking speed growth from 2 to 7 km/h 15.3 times and 19.4 times for men and women, respectively – that is presumably indicative of the significant stress on the neuro-locomotor regulatory mechanisms. Based on the study data, we offer a population index of physical activity i.e. the walking cadence of 95 and 120 steps per min with the energy demand range of 3 and 4 MET for men and women, respectively.

Keywords: walking cadence, walking index, oxygen demand, students.

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