Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the analyzed sample (N = 66) .
| Variable | Group | |||
| Walking (n = 22) | Meditating (n = 22) | Control (n = 22) | P value a | |
| Age, mean | 21.5 (2.3) | 22.6 (3.2) | 20.9 (2.5) | 0.12 |
| Gender, % male | 27.3 | 22.7 | 36.4 | 0.60 |
| Race, % | 0.49 | |||
| Mexican American | 0.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 | |
| Other Hispanic | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| Non-Hispanic White | 54.5 | 72.7 | 77.3 | |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 31.8 | 13.6 | 9.1 | |
| Other | 9.1 | 9.1 | 9.1 | |
| BMI, mean, kg/m2 | 25.3 (5.4) | 24.3 (4.4) | 24.6 (4.5) | 0.53 |
| MVPA, mean, min/week | 378.1 (414.2) | 294.4 (247.1) | 328.5 (416.3) | 0.76 |
| Last meal, mean, h | 5.2 (4.8) | 4.6 (4.5) | 4.0 (3.7) | |
| Previous meditation experience, % | 36.4 | 59.1 | 59.1 | 0.21 |
| Currently meditating, % | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 1.0 |
| Exercise enjoyment, mean | 4.3 (.8) | 4.3 (.8) | 4.5 (.6) | 0.67 |
| Stress responses, mean | 70.9 (10.9) | 67.0 (12.6) | 66.0 (11.2) | 0.36 |
| Mindfulness, mean | 42.4 (7.4) | 40.3 (7.0) | 39.5 (7.2) | 0.41 |
| Emotion regulation, mean | 67.6 (15.1) | 73.5 (21.1) | 72.6 (19.8) | 0.56 |
| Dysexecutive function, mean | 45.3 (10.4) | 43.1 (10.0) | 47.8 (14.9) | 0.44 |
| Heart Rate, mean | ||||
| Resting | 71.7 (11.0) | 75.8 (10.9) | 67.9 (12.6) | |
| Mid-intervention | 113.10 (21.3) | 65.2 (13.5) | 69.2 (14.5) | |
| End-intervention | 93.55 (16.0) | 64.1 (14.3) | 68.9 (14.8) | |
| Final heart rate | 76.2 (15.3) | 74.6 (13.8) | 67.9 (14.1) | |
| RPE, mean | 9.5 (1.7) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Speed, mean, mph | 3.2 (.4) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
All values presented as mean (standard deviation).
a P values calculated via ANOVA tests of between-subject effects (continuous data) and via chi square tests (categorical data).
BMI = body mass index; Currently meditating = proportion of the group who reported having previous meditation experience who were practicing meditation at the time; Dysexecutive function = composite score from the Dyxexecutive Questionnaire (DEX); Emotion regulation = composite score from the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS); Last meal = time elapsed since last consuming food; Mindfulness = composite score from the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI); MVPA = moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; N/A = not applicable; Previous meditation experience = proportion of the group who had any previous experience with meditation; Resting= resting heart rate; RPE = rating of perceived exertion using standard Borg 6-20 rating scale; Speed = selected miles per hour to walk at during treadmill walking bout; Stress responses = composite score from the Responses to Stressful Experiences Scale (RSES).