What your walking speed says about your health?

As we age the question of how healthy we are and how much longer I have left hangs over us. We look for many ways to decide if our health is good and if the lifestyles we live are the correct ones.  This process is tricky because we see seemingly healthy seniors die while others much like them continue to live. So the next question becomes what’s the secret to living longer? Learn more about walking speed!

The secret of longevity according to tests shows that the faster a senior walks reflect their life expectancy. A study was done on 35,000 older adults (average age of 74) mostly white women showed a ten-year survival increase of about 12% for every 0.1 m/second of increment in their walking speed. Seniors that walked 1 meter per second (about 2.25 mph) or faster consistently showed the best results.

What this study along with many other studies about the effects of walking shows is that the faster you walk the better all your biological systems are working, for example, your muscular, nervous, and digestion systems. However, if you’re walking speed is fast then don’t assume everything is alright you still need to closely watch your health because of underlying issues that aren’t reflected by walking speed. Walking fast just means you’re more likely to live longer because you’re in a healthy state. Take Edward Gerjouy for example. Edward is a 92-year-old man who can walk on an incline treadmill for more than 30 min without fatigue.

Administering a time test can give you and your doctor an understanding of your level of health. The lesson here is to have an active lifestyle because the more movement especially an elderly person goes through keeps their internal systems active and working supposed to slowing down and getting lazy. It’s advised that the elderly get more involved in activities like strolls to increase their walking speed.

 

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