A new study has shown that the faster the walk, the longer the lifespan of those who practice it lengthens, as long as it lasts at least 30 minutes per day. The benefits are particularly important in the elderly.
If many studies had already established that walking reduced the risk of death, no researcher had hitherto looked at the pace that should be given to walks.
Five to seven kilometers per hour
To overcome this lack of precision, a new search published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has proven that the faster the walk, the longer the lifespan of those who practice it lengthens – provided of course that they walk for at least 30 minutes a day. The team analyzed 11 population surveys conducted in the UK between 1994 and 2008, collecting data on 50,225 walkers.
A walking pace is considered “fast” when the individual walks five to seven kilometers per hour. As it all the same depends a lot on the level of physical form of each one, one can consider that one walks quickly when a slight shortness of breath is felt during the effort.
Risk of cancer mortality
Walking at a rapid pace reduces the risk of death by 21%, at least with regard to cardiovascular disease. Scientists have failed to assess the correlation between brisk walking and the risk of cancer death.
Another interesting fact is that the benefit of brisk walking has been particularly felt in the elderly. Those in the cohort aged 60 or older were associated with a risk of death from cardiovascular disease of less than 46% if they walked at an average pace, a figure that rises to 53% if they walked fast.
“A habit of life that is very easy to adopt”
Professor Stamatakis concludes about his study: “Our results are interesting, especially for people who can no longer walk for lack of time or suitable spaces. Getting around faster is a habit of life that is very easy. to adopt.”
Latest precision, recently updated by a study published in the journal of the American Heart Association. It doesn’t matter if you walk three times for 10 minutes in a row, or ten times for 3 minutes, as long as the effort lasts for 30 minutes. Good news for those who don’t have the leisure to go for long walks: just take short, but frequent ones. At the office, for example, it is possible and even recommended to go out for the air every two hours (except if it is for smoking, of course…).
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