Putting some extra pep in your step may prolong your life, according to a study published June 1 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Researchers pooled 11 population-based surveys conducted in England and Scotland between 1994 and 2008 to form a sample of more than 50,000 walkers age 30 and older with no cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer at baseline.
Compared with respondents who said they walked at a slow pace, those who walked an average pace were found to a have a 20 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality over the average follow-up of 9.2 years. Average-paced walkers were also found to have a 24 percent reduction in mortality attributed to CVD.
Individuals reporting a brisk or fast walking pace had all-cause and CVD-specific mortality reductions of 24 percent and 21 percent, respectively, when compared to slow walkers.
“Assuming our results reflect cause and effect, these analyses suggest that increasing walking pace may be a straightforward way for people to improve heart health and risk for premature mortality—providing a simple message for public health campaigns to promote,” lead author Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD, with the Epidemiology Unit at the University of Sydney, said in a press release. "Especially in situations when walking more isn't possible due to time pressures or a less walking-friendly environment, walking faster may be a good option to get the heart rate up—one that most people can easily incorporate into their lives."
Slow walking pace is one indicator of frailty, and previous research found that slow walkers with hypertension were more likely to require hospitalization. But this study analyzed a population free of cardiovascular disease and found walking speed was predictive of mortality independent of gender or body mass index (BMI).
The associations were even more powerful among patients 60 and older. Compared to slow walkers in that age range, fast walkers demonstrated a 53 percent reduction in CVD mortality and average-paced walkers showed a 46 percent reduction.
“It is possible that older age and lower physical activity status (total or intensity) predict lower aerobic fitness (maximal oxygen consumption),” the authors wrote. “As such, that the relative intensity of walking at faster pace may be equivalent to the upper end of moderate intensity or even vigorous intensity, and therefore provides a greater physiological stimulus for maintaining cardiovascular function and promoting health.”
Stamatakis said a fast pace is generally described as five to seven kilometers per hour (3.1 to 4.3 mph), but breaking a sweat or becoming slightly out of breath are good indicators of a brisk pace for a given individual’s fitness level.
The researchers didn’t find an association with walking pace and cancer mortality. Their analysis was limited because it relied on survey answers rather than more precise measurements of speed, and they weren’t able to capture changes in participants’ speed over time.
“Although it is biologically plausible that walking at a higher pace leads to better health overall and cardiovascular health specifically, it is also likely that walking at a faster pace is a marker for better health, fitness and physical function, which predicts the risk for mortality in the following years,” Stamatakis and colleagues wrote. “In other words, walking pace may be a predictor of lower mortality risk, a causal factor or both.”
Daniel joined TriMed’s Chicago editorial team in 2017 as a Cardiovascular Business writer. He previously worked as a writer for daily newspapers in North Dakota and Indiana.