Walking faster may extend older people's life span

The study, published in 'The Journal of the American Medical Association,' has linked the walking speed among people in their 70s to life expectancy.

Faster walking may prolong life
In the latest study, researchers found that those who walked faster or 1 meter per second (about 2.25 mph) consistently lived longer than others of their age and sex who walked more slowly, as reported by several online health tabloids.

"We're able to show that a person's capacity to move strongly reflects vitality and health," MSNBC quoted lead researcher Dr. Stephanie Studenski, a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, as saying.

Study details
To determine an association between faster walking speeds and longevity in seniors, Studenski and co-researchers analyzed data from nine studies involving more than 34,000 community-dwelling adults, over the age of 65.

The studies examined the walking speed, sex, age, body mass index, medical history, and survival rate of the participants who were followed for six to 21 years.

The studies, dated from 1986 to 2000, provided information about walking, or gait, speed.

Study findings
After the analysis, the researchers found that walking speed was directly related to survival, with those walking faster tended to live longer than slow walkers.

The researchers, who calculated gait speed using distance in meters and seconds, say people who typically walk 1 meter per second or faster live longer than expected.

The average walking speed for the study participants, who walked at their usual pace from a standing start, was 0.92 meters per second, or about 3 feet per second, according to WebMD.com.

The researchers found that predicting survival based on gait speed for each sex and age group increased the faster a person could walk.

They found that study subjects who walked slower than 2 feet per second (about 1.36 miles an hour) were at an increased risk of dying, while those who walked 3.3 feet per second (about 2.25 miles per hour) or faster survived longer than expected.

The longevity differences were especially significant among 75-year-olds and older. The predicted 10-year survival rate varied greatly with walking speeds, from 19 percent to 87 percent in men and from 35 percent to 91 percent in women, according to WebMD.com.

“Gait speeds of 1.0 meter [3.28 feet]/second or higher consistently demonstrated survival that was longer than expected by age and sex alone. In this older adult population the relationship of gait speed with remaining years of life was consistent across age groups, but the absolute number of expected remaining years of life was larger at younger ages,” the researchers wrote.

Some evidence show slow walkers live a long time and fast-walkers die early
However, the authors of the study emphasize that their study strictly doesn’t suggest that slow walkers doomed to an early grave, according to Discovery News.

"We are not saying that if you just go out and walk faster, you will live longer. Absolutely not," said Studenski. "We are saying your body selects a walking speed that is best for you based on the health of all your body systems."

"There is clearly a group of people who walk slowly and live a long time," she said. "It's not a death sentence."

"The best way to live as long and well as you can is to be in the best health you can be," she added. "Walking speed might help you reflect or monitor how healthy you are."

The study authors hope their findings can provide doctors with an inexpensive, safe and simple way of measuring performance that can help identify health problems, and in many cases lead to treatments that can improve well-being of elederly, ward off their disabilities and help them maintain independence.