Want to live longer? Research reveals you should walk faster

By Stephen Beech

Walking slightly quicker helps people of all races and incomes to live longer, according to new research.

Fast walking for as little as 15 minutes a day is linked to a 20% reduction in the risk of dying young, say scientists.

Regular walking is widely recognised for its significant benefits to overall health and well-being.

But previous research has mainly focused on middle-to-high-income white groups.

The new study, using data from 79,856 predominantly low-income and black people across 12 south-eastern US states, confirms the benefits of regular walking - especially at a faster pace.

Scientists say their findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, underline the importance of promoting walking, particularly at a brisk pace, as an effective form of physical activity for improving health.

Lead investigator Dr. Wei Zheng, of Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, said: “Our research has shown that fast walking as little as 15 minutes a day was associated with a nearly 20% reduction in total mortality, while a smaller reduction in mortality was found in association with more than three hours of daily slow walking.

"This benefit remained strong even after accounting for other lifestyle factors and was consistent across various sensitivity analyses.”

Participants reported the average amount of time per day they typically spend “walking slowly" - such as moving around, walking at work, walking the dog, or engaging in light exercise - and “walking fast" - such as climbing stairs, brisk walking, or exercising.

The findings showed that the protective effect of fast walking extended to all causes of death, but was most pronounced for cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure.

And the benefits of fast walking were independent of overall leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) levels.

Even for those who are already engaged in slow walking or some LTPA, adding more fast walking further reduced mortality.

The study found that the benefits of fast walking related to health included boosting heart efficiency and managing cardiovascular risk factors by helping control body weight and composition, reducing obesity and related risks such as high blood pressure.

The researchers pointed out that low-income groups often face economic constraints and are more likely to reside in impoverished, highly polluted communities with limited access to safe walking spaces.

But they say fast walking is a highly accessible, convenient, low-impact activity suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels.

Dr. Zheng said: "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."

Study lead author Lili Liu, an epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University, added: “Public health campaigns and community-based programmes can emphasise the importance and availability of fast walking to improve health outcomes, providing resources and support to facilitate increased fast walking within all communities.

"Furthermore, the findings of the reduced mortality associated with fast walking pace were supported by previous studies conducted in middle- and upper-middle-income populations.

"Individuals should strive to incorporate more intense physical activity into their routines, such as brisk walking or other forms of aerobic exercise.”

A study, published in the journal PLOS One earlier this month, found that walking just slightly faster helps older people stay active for longer.

The research, led by scientists at the University of Chicago Medicine, showed that taking just 14 steps per minute more than their usual pace led to "meaningful" improvements in physical well-being for pensioners who were frail or at risk of becoming frail.