Walking faster is good for your health

Walking is an excellent activity for our health. Going out for a half hour a day can substantially change our physical condition, help us take care of our heart, activate our muscles, improve blood circulation, among other things. But it is not important only that we walk, but at what speed we walk.

An investigation carried out by the University of Sydney found that increasing the speed at which we walk could extend our life expectancy.

The researchers took information from 11 databases, with data on mortality, of English and Scottish population. The information collected was between 1994 and 2008. In total, they analyzed data from 50,225 people who self-reported on the speed at which they walked. The researchers considered variables such as the amount and total intensity of physical activity, age, sex or weight.

In the results they found that walking at a medium pace was associated with a 20% reduction in mortality, while rapid walking lowered that risk to 24% compared to walking slowly.

The same thing happened with the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Walking at a medium pace reduced the risk by 24% and walking fast by 21% comparing, again, walking slowly.

This effect seemed to be even more pronounced in groups of elderly people. People over 60 who walked at a medium pace seemed to have a 46% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Those who walked fast had, on the other hand, 53% less risk.

The individual walking rhythm of each one was self-reported, which could have caused some deficiency in the rhythm measurement which could affect the results. However, it is interesting to know the relationship that the pace at which we walk can have on our health.

As always, more research is needed to confirm these results. In any case, we encourage you, quickly or slowly, to go for a walk and take advantage of the benefits of this simple exercise for our body.