Would you consider yourself a slow walker or fast walker? Possibly the easiest question I’ve ever asked of myself!!!
Because if you walk quickly, there’s good news for you. A 12-year study (well there’s a good use of time) of over 4,000 older adults looked at whether walking speed was connected to a longer life.
And they found that people who walked faster had a lower risk of death . . . and that’s even accounting for other health and lifestyle factors.
One physical therapist calls your walking speed the “sixth vital sign” . . . because walking fast requires your legs, heart, lungs, balance, and nervous system to all work together.
But that doesn’t mean you should start speedwalking everywhere just yet. This only shows an association. It does not prove that walking faster will make you live longer. “Correlation does not imply causation.” But I’m going to start walking faster now just in case! Ehh...probably not
