• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.99 no.1
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• pp.47-51
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of acute forest walking exercise on blood glucose of IGT (impaired glucose tolerance), NIDDM (non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus) in the elderly. There were four groups (n=60): forest walking exercise with IGT group (n=15; $66.21{\pm}4.16$ yrs), forest walking exercise with NIDDM group (n=15; $64.85{\pm}3.23$ yrs), field walking exercise with IGT group (n=15; $67.44{\pm}1.78$ yrs), field walking exercise with NIDDM group (n=15; $65.55{\pm}8.21$ yrs). They were tested on blood glucose levels at the beginning and at the end of each walking exercise. While the forest walking groups (interval + resistance exercise) worked for 40minutes with HRmax 50~60% level, the field walking groups (only aerobic exercise) worked for 40 minutes with HRmax 50~60% level. For data analysis, mean and standard deviation scores were calculated, and paired t-test and ANCOVA test were used. This study resulted in as follows. First, both walking groups showed the significant decrease of blood glucose in impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) after completing each exercise. Second, while the forest walking group showed the significant decrease of blood glucose in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) after completing the forest exercise, the field walking group did not present any decrease of blood glucose in NIDDM after the field walking exercise. Therefore, the present findings suggest that the forest walking exercise as an interval and resistance exercise may be more effective to decrease blood glucose for IGT and NIDDM peoples in comparison to the field walking exercise as an aerobic exercise.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.386-394
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• 2023

This study investigated changes in salivary cortisol, lactic acid, and heart rate along the route during walking exercise in a forest environment for the purpose of reducing stress. Walking exercise in a forest environment was conducted on a Hill Type (Distance: 800m, Average slope 25°, Altitude 112m) and Step Type (Distance: 800m, Average slope 25°, Altitude 114m) routes for 10 female college students in their 20s. The subjects were asked to walk at a speed of 60 bpm. The resulting changes in salivary cortisol, lactate, and average heart rate during exercise were compared and analyzed using Repeated Measurement two-way ANOVA, and the maximum heart rate during exercise and average heart rate at rest were compared and analyzed using paired t-test, and the following results were obtained. First, there was no significant difference in salivary cortisol depending on the type and period of the forest, but it tended to gradually decrease. Second, there was a significant difference in lactic acid depending on the type and period, and it was higher in Step Type. Third, there was a significant difference in the average heart rate during exercise, and it was higher in Step Type. Fourth, there was a significant difference in maximum heart rate during exercise, and it was higher in Step Type. Fifth, there was no significant difference in average heart rate during rest. In summary, walking exercise in a forest environment can be effective for stress reduction for female college students in their 20s, but it appears that forest routes should be selected according to physical strength level, and walking exercise in a forest environment for long periods of time is not recommended. For this purpose, it is suggested that it is appropriate to select the Hill Type route.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.222-228
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• 2024

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of forestry exercise on the quality of life and physical self-concept of breast cancer survivors. The subjects of this study were eight breast cancer survivors 6 months after mastectomy. The forest combined exercise program consisted of aerobic exercise through forest walking and resistance exercise using elastic bands. The forest combined exercise was conducted twice for 8 weeks. Forest trekking consisted of a 2km walking speed and resistance exercise consisted of three levels of sets and intensity. The format was divided into gradual increases. The exercise time was 40 to 60 minutes for forest trekking, 20 to 30 minutes for descent, and 40 to 60 minutes for resistance exercise, for a total of 120 to 130 minutes per day. Breast cancer survivors' quality of life was measured using a questionnaire, and changes in quality of life were measured using a t-test (α=.05). Physical self-concept was assessed through in-depth interviews. There was no statistically significant difference in quality of life before and after 8 weeks of combined forestry exercise, but there was a slight tendency to increase in the area of physical well-being. Physical self-concept showed positive changes in motivation, physical strength improvement, health promotion, physical competence, and self-confidence through the forest composite exercise. Therefore, the forest composite exercise is believed to have a positive effect on the physical self-concept of breast cancer survivors.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.103 no.3
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• pp.503-509
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Forest-walking exercise on gait pattern in the elderly. The subjects (n=37) were assigned to 2 groups: Forest-walking exercise (FWE) group (n=19, $66.34{\pm}4.31$ years old) and In-door treadmill-walking exercise (ITWE) group (n=18, $67.18{\pm}2.78$ years old). The subjects participated in FWE program or ITWE program (3 times/week, 80 min/day) for 12 weeks. The subjects were tested on functional fitness (strength, endurance, agility/balance, BMI) and gait pattern (cadence, velocity, and stability) at the beginning and the end of the 12-weeks program. For data analysis, mean and standard deviation scores were calculated, and independent t-test and repeated two-way ANOVA were used. The results of this study were as follow: First, FWE group was significantly more improved than ITWE group on functional fitness(lower-body muscular strength, lower-body flexibility, mobility, cardiorespiratory endurance) after 12-weeks exercise program. But both groups showed equally improvements on functional fitness (upper-body muscular strength, upper-body flexibility, BMI). Second, FWE group was significantly more improved than ITWE group on cadence, gait velocity, and gait stability after 12-weeks exercise program. Therefore, this study may suggest that Forest-walking exercise based on sensory-motor functional integration improves efficiently functional fitness and gait pattern in the elderly, and further becomes an effective exercise method that makes more dynamic life, and prevents from falling.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.113 no.2
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• pp.210-221
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• 2024

This study aimed to investigate the effects of forest walking based on an exercise prescription on body composition of older adults. Forty-four older adults (average age: 69.3 ± 3.1 years) participated in this study. The experimental group engaged in forest walking based on a prescribed exercise intensity considering the participants' respective health conditions. The participants walked three times a week for more than an hour each time for 8 weeks. By contrast, the participants in the control group spent their days according to their usual lifestyle. The analysis involved the following: ① a comparison of the measurements taken before and after the 8-week period of forest walking in the experimental group, ② a comparison between pre- and post-study measurements in the control group, and ③ a comparison of the changes (post-study minus pre-study values) between the experimental and control groups. The results were as follows: ① the experimental group showed significant decreases in weight, body fat mass, and body mass index; ② the control group exhibited significant decreases in muscle mass and ratio in right arm and left leg, muscle ratio in trunk, and body water mass in right arm; and ③ weight and body fat index decreased in the experimental group but increased in the control group. In conclusion, forest walking based on an exercise prescription had a positive impact on body composition of older adults.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.109-118
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• 2019

Physical activities in the forest environment stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system of humans and have positive effects on the autonomic nervous system as well as moods and emotions. However, there are almost no studies on the benefits of exercise in the forest environment for patients with myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 15-minute single session walking by myocardial infarction patients in the forest and urban environment on the physiological and psychological states. The heart rate variability was measured in 10 patients with myocardial infarction to assess physiological state after single session walking for 15 minutes in the forest environment and urban environment. In order to evaluate the psychological state, a profile of mood scale (POMS) and semantic differential (SD) questionnaire were used. The results of this study showed that 15-minute single session walking in the forest environment activated the parasympathetic nervous system of adult myocardial infarction patients more than 15 minutes of single session walking in the urban environment, and also made them feel more positive in terms of the POMS and SD. Therefore, this study suggests that even single session walking in the forest environment can positively influence the physiological and psychological states of adult heart disease patients and may also contribute to health care.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.219-229
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• 2019

This study was carried out to verify the accuracy of fitness tracking devices in monitoring heart rate and energy consumption and to contribute to the development of a forest exercise program that can recommend the intensity and amount of forest exercises based on personal health-related data and provide monitoring and feedback on forest exercises. Among several commercially available wearable devices, Fitbit was selected for the research, as it provides Open API and data collected by Fitbit can be utilized by third parties to develop programs. Fitbit provides users with various information collected during forest exercises including exercise time and distance, heart rate, energy consumption, as well as the altitude and slope of forests collected by GPS. However, in order to verify the usability of the heart rate and energy consumption data collected by Fitbit in forest, the accuracy of heart rate and energy consumption were verified by comparing the data collected by Fitbit and reference. In this study, 13 middle-aged women were participated, and it was found that the heart rate measured by Fitbit showed a very low error rate and high correlation with that measured by the reference. The energy consumption measured by Fitbit was not significantly different from that measured in the reference, but the error rate was slightly higher. However, there was high correlation between the results measured by Fibit and the reference, therefore, it can be concluded that Fitbit can be utilized in developing actual forest exercise programs.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.235-241
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• 2011

Recently, as people have become more interested in health issues, their demand on forest trails for bush walking exercise has increased. The purpose of the study is to select barrier factors into forest trail for disabled using wheelchairs. As a result this, it has selected 31 barrier factors through the Delphi method. Of all the these factors, the information board of forest trails, showing the location of the trails, has indicated the highest score of importance at 4.50. Next, securing hiker' walking safety space has indicated an importance level of 4.44; both the slope of forest trails and the height of obstacles have indicated an importance level of 4.38; and the effective width of forest trails has indicated the highest score of importance level of 4.33. From these indicated levels of importance, the respondents of the Delphi method consider the safety of users of forest trail' as the most important factor while the physically disables are hiking. That is why these factors have resulted in acquiring relatively higher values.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.140-148
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was performed to determine the physical and psychological effects of an urban forest-walking program for office workers. For many workers, sedentary lifestyles can lead to low levels of physical activity causing various health problems despite an increased interest in health promotion. Methods: Fifty four office workers participated in this study. They were assigned to two groups (experimental group and control group) in random order and the experimental group performed 5 weeks of walking exercise based on Information-Motivation-Behavioral skills Model. The data were collected from October to November 2014. SPSS 21.0 was used for the statistical analysis. Results: The results showed that the urban forest walking program had positive effects on the physical activity level (U=65.00, p <.001), health promotion behavior (t= - 2.20, p =.033), and quality of life (t= - 2.42, p =.020). However, there were no statistical differences in depression, waist size, body mass index, blood pressure, or bone density between the groups. Conclusion: The current findings of the study suggest the forest-walking program may have positive effects on improving physical activity, health promotion behavior, and quality of life. The program can be used as an effective and efficient strategy for physical and psychological health promotion for office workers.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.427-436
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• 2010

In this study this author made research and analysis on physical status and characteristics of community parks in Ik-san provinces and also depending on its potential resources such parks were classified into constructed parks and unconstructed parks and status of use of such parks and level of satisfaction were studied. Through this paper this author strived to provide basic data required for forming green track of land for the parks. Required time for visiting community parks either constructed or unconstructed type was within 40 minutes or less. However constructed parks appeared to be more convenient for access in comparison with natural unconstructed parks. Mostly they were used by residents in neighboring community and also residents in the area around it were found as using it frequently. At the time of using community parks either constructed or unconstructed types means of access were mostly by walking or by riding bicycles. Thus considering large number of users of such parks are from neighboring community it appeared that parks with its simplicity and convenience in terms of distance and with rich nature were preferred by users rather than large scale parks at distance. In terms of time frame of use and motivation of visit constructed parks were used mainly for exercise and relaxation in the morning at parks and its facilities whereas un constructed parks were mostly used in the afternoon for for walking and chatting and rest under with time to spare at shadows of its trees. Time spent at parks were composed mostly of rest and walking more frequently than exercise and leisure activity thus it was different from motivation for visiting parks. As for evaluation of use of parks natural elements, unique environment, trees and lawns featured highly in unconstructed parks in comparison with constructed parks. Thus it seemed visitors are more conscious of forest and landscape in a form of unchanged nature. Thus for community parks first consideration should be heightening accessibility in view of primary concern for convenience by users rather than facilities or environmental conditions.