This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

In a new study, folks who walked at a brisker pace had a lower risk of an early death. Faster walking speed and more steps per minute are both associated with a lower risk of dying from any cause, researchers report in JAMA Network Open.

Walking speed and step rate were "consistently associated with all-cause mortality, even after adjustment for daily step count," the researchers wrote. The study was led by Rayane Haddadj, a fellow in public health and nursing at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.

For the new study, researchers analyzed data for more than 4,000 British civil servants who are participating in a health research project established in the late 1980s. They averaged about 69 years of age at the time the study was done.

Participants had undergone clinical examinations every four to five years. In 2012 and 2013, they also had their walking speed measured and wore a device to track their steps per minute as they strolled.

The study linked higher walking speeds to a 23% lower risk of death over the study period. A snappier step rate was tied to a 17% lower risk of death, the researchers said.

There are a lot of reasons why faster walking might be linked to longer life, said Dr. Theodore Strange, chair of medicine at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital in New York.

Source link