Walking faster can increase lifespan, with men who walk fast living an average of 20 years longer and women living 14 years longer than their slower counterparts, regardless of weight. The findings are based on self-reported data from 474,919 people in the UK over seven years. Increasing fitness through walking is beneficial for health, but study leader Tom Yates cautioned that people have different ideas about what constitutes fast walking.
No one can escape death, but you may be able to keep it at bay just by walking faster.
According to a study concluded in 2019, men who walk fast live, on average, 20 years longer than men who walk slowly. The average life span of women who maintain a brisk pace is 14 years longer than that of their more sedate counterparts.
The real shocker is that no matter how much the walker weighs: the longer lifespan also held true for overweight and obese walkers. The findings come from seven years of data on 474,919 people in the UK.
Tom Yates, study leader and professor at the University of Leicester in England, cautioned that people looking at the results need to keep in mind they were based on self-reported data, and people have different ideas about what it’s like to walk fast.
“However, while there are likely to be multiple factors contributing to the strength of our results, it is common knowledge that increasing your fitness is one of the best things you can do for your health,” Yates said. “Increasing the pace of walking in everyday life is a good way to increase fitness levels, particularly in slow walkers.”
The walking life:
On average, people walk at a speed of 3.1 mph (5 km/h).
To burn calories in a single M&M candy, you’d have to walk the length of an American football field, or 100 yards (91m).
Race walking is an official Olympic sport, in distances of 20 km and 50 km.
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