New research comes out! Who lives longer, fast or slow walkers?

In 2019, the Mayo Clinic Journal in the United States published a "Pace of Life" study, which conducted a seven-year follow-up study on 475,000 participants with an average age of 58.

Their walking speed and body mass index were collected regularly, and then their life expectancy was estimated through an analytical model.

The results of the study showed that regardless of their body mass index, people who walked faster had a longer life expectancy.

In this study:

• Women who walk fast: expected life expectancy 86.7-87.8 years;
• Men who walk fast: expected life expectancy 85.2-86.8 years;
• Women who walk slowly: expected life expectancy is 72.4 years;
• Men who walk slowly: expected average life expectancy is 64.8 years.
• People who walk fast can live 15-20 years longer than those who walk slowly on average!

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In addition, a study on genetic data of more than 400,000 adults published in Communications Biology in 2022 showed that the faster the walking speed, the younger the person.

This is because the faster a person walks, the longer their "leukocyte telomere length" is. Telomeres are considered a biomarker of aging, and the longer the telomeres, the slower the aging process.

To sum up, people who walk fast are healthier and live longer than those who walk slowly.

But a word of caution: do not deliberately speed up your pace. We should still walk within our capacity for fitness. If we blindly pursue the pace, we may fall, which will cause more serious physical injuries. Be careful not to lose more than you gain.

01

“Walking speed” is an important indicator of aging

As the saying goes, "People get old starting with their legs," there is some truth to this.

Yang Binghui, former president of Fudan University Zhongshan Hospital and professor of internal medicine at Fudan University Shanghai Medical College, said: The function of the legs is to walk, and the posture and speed of a person's walking can reflect the aging of the body. If you can walk briskly, at least you don't look old; if you walk unsteadily, you must be old and frail.

In addition, the walking posture may also be related to habits, previous training, etc.; the walking speed is mainly related to the body's functions such as muscle strength, balance ability and psychological state. Therefore, "walking speed" has become an important indicator of aging.

02

How fast is considered fast when walking?

Professor Yang Binghui said that in geriatric outpatient clinics, doctors often use a method called the "4-meter gait speed test" to roughly estimate the health status of the elderly.

If one cannot walk 4 meters within 5 seconds, that is, the walking speed is less than 0.8 meters per second, it means that there is obvious weakness.

Of course, an experienced doctor may not need to use a chronograph or a tape measure. He can roughly know the patient's walking condition by just watching him for a few seconds.

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It should be noted that the "4-meter gait test method" is only an approximate observation method.

A person's walking speed depends on factors such as age, gender, height, and weight.

03

Walking suddenly slows down

Be careful about these diseases

Some elderly people think it is normal to walk slower as they get older. This is true, and walking slower does not mean you are sick.

However, the emphasis here is on "slowing down", which means that the original walking was not slow, and it refers to slowing down to a certain extent in a short period of time, which is worthy of vigilance.

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Professor Yang Binghui said that the slow walking speed of the elderly is mostly due to muscle atrophy and decreased muscle strength;

But the reason for this is often related to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, nervous system diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, digestive tract diseases, bone and joint diseases, etc.

There are also a few elderly people who walk slower because they are afraid of falling in the past.

In all such cases, you should see a doctor and receive targeted treatment.

1. Muscle weakness

Wang Xiaodong, attending physician of the Department of Orthopedics at Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, published an article in 2022 stating:

If it is generalized muscular weakness, you may walk slowly, feel weak all over, and your muscles' ability to resist will decrease. You need to go to the hospital for relevant examinations and take medication under the guidance of a doctor.

In case of muscle atrophy and decreased muscle strength, you should pay attention to increasing protein nutrition.

Particular attention should be paid to the intake of high-quality protein such as milk, eggs, poultry, and meat. Appropriate supplementation of vitamin D may help improve muscle content and function.

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In addition, muscle training and balance training should also be strengthened. Of course, for some elderly people with chronic diseases, they need to carry out appropriate exercises step by step under the guidance of medical staff.

2. Weakness

People who have been ill for a long time, have just undergone surgery, or are elderly and weak will walk slowly. Once their bodies are a little stronger, the slow walking condition can be alleviated.

3. Bone disease

If you have osteoporosis or other bone problems, you may walk slowly. Actively treating bone diseases can alleviate the slow walking condition.

4. Cerebrovascular disease

Slow walking may also be caused by brain trauma or cerebral infarction and other diseases that cause damage to the brain nerves;

You may experience unsteady gait, slow movements, and slow walking. You can go to the hospital for a brain CT scan to find out the cause and conduct targeted treatment.

5. Other brain diseases

Yao Xiaoteng, director of the Department of Neurosurgery at the First People's Hospital of Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, published an article in 2021 stating that some middle-aged and elderly people who look like they have "dementia" may actually be suffering from hydrocephalus.

The main manifestations of this type of "dementia" include progressive intellectual decline, slow reaction, slow movements, memory loss/forgetfulness, slow walking, small steps, and dragging on the ground.

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Of course, it does not require the elderly to walk fast. It should be a good habit for them to walk leisurely and calmly.

What we are talking about here is only the obvious slowdown in walking speed due to the decline in walking ability, which should be given full attention.

Source: Health Times

Review: Li Nannan Director of Hunan Science Writers Association Deputy Director of Research and Publicity Department of Hunan Science and Technology Association Second-level Researcher Chinese Science Writer (Medical)

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