This study was carried out to determine the effects of the novel Buddhism-based walking meditation (arm swing walking incorporating with Buddhist meditation; ASW) program on functional fitness, endothelium-dependent vasodilation and depression scores. A total of 40 participants with mild to moderate depressive symptoms were randomly allocated to the sedentary control (n=13), Traditional walking (TW; n=13), and ASW groups (n=14). Both exercise training programs were designed to yield the mild (20-39%HRR) to moderate (40-50%HRR) intensity, 3 times/ week for 12 weeks. The results showed that body mass, BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased in both TW and ASW groups and a significant decrease in body fat percentage was observed only in the ASW group (p<0.05). Maximal oxygen consumption, muscle strength, flexibility, agility, and dynamic balance increased in both exercise groups (p<0.05). Moreover, significant reduction in plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, and C-reactive protein and flow-mediated dilation induction were found in both exercise groups (p<0.05); however, the improvement of endothelial-dependent vasodilation was greater in the ASW group more than traditional walking group. Also, interleukin-6 concentrations, depression score were decreased only in the ASW group. We concluded that both TW and ASW were effective in improving endothelial-dependent vasodilation and physical fitness. But the ASW program appears to confer greater improvements in vascular function and depression than the TW program.

Thesis (Ph.D. )--Chulalongkorn University, 2012