The speed of your steps could make a significant difference in adding years to your life, according to a new study.
Researchers led by a team from Vanderbilt University in the US analyzed the physical activity of 79,856 adults in 12 US states, comparing links between time spent walking slowly, time spent walking quickly, and eventual cause of death (where applicable) across an average follow-up period of almost 17 years.
The data showed that those people who spent at least a quarter of an hour each day walking briskly were significantly less likely to die during the study period, especially from cardiovascular disease.
What makes the findings particularly useful is they're based on a sample that includes people typically underrepresented in walking studies like this: the cohort was predominantly made up of low-income and Black individuals, who are often more likely to live in impoverished areas and less likely to have access to safe walking spaces.
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"Our research has shown that fast walking as little as 15 minutes a day was associated with a nearly 20 percent reduction in total mortality, while a smaller reduction in mortality was found in association with more than three hours of daily slow walking," says epidemiologist Wei Zheng, from Vanderbilt University
"This benefit remained strong even after accounting for other lifestyle factors and was consistent across various sensitivity analyses."
The researchers categorized slow walking as walking the dog, or walking around at work. To qualify for the faster walking linked to the reduction in the risk of death, it had to be something like climbing stairs or walking briskly as part of an exercise routine.
While the study isn't comprehensive enough to show direct cause and effect, the drop in mortality risk is significant enough to strongly suggest some kind of link, and the researchers think the benefits that aerobic exercise brings to heart health is key.
Fast walking makes the heart work harder, improving cardiovascular health. Burning calories can also help people stick to a healthy weight.
"While the health benefits of daily walking are well established, limited research has investigated the effects of factors such as walking pace on mortality, particularly in low-income and Black/African-American populations," says Zheng.
One of the reasons that researchers are so keen to promote walking as a way of staying healthy is that it's just about the simplest exercise out there: most of us can do it, without any special equipment, and it's relatively easy to roll into a daily routine (try parking a little further away from work, for example).
"Public health campaigns and community-based programs can emphasize the importance and availability of fast walking to improve health outcomes, providing resources and support to facilitate increased fast walking within all communities," says epidemiologist Lili Liu, from Vanderbilt University.
The research has been published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.