Walking is one of the best low-cost hobbies for staying healthy at any age, but it turns out you don’t have to aim for a high daily step count to reap the health benefits. New research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that going faster could help boost your longevity.
“Step counts capture how much walking a day contains,” says study author Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD, Professor of Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Population Health at Monash University in Australia. “They tell us relatively little about the effort behind those steps.”
A plethora of research shows that walking is good for you. It can improve circulation, heart and lung function, immunity, mental well-being, and sleep. It also helps reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and dementia. On top of all that, the new research says walking faster could help you live longer, so we asked Stamatakis for the details.
What the study found
In the new study, researchers tracked step counts and peak walking speeds for 64,743 people. Peak walking speed was defined as the average of each study participant’s 30 highest stepping minutes in a day. Researchers then examined the associations between participants’ walking stats and their risk of death seven to nine years later.
The results showed that both step count and cadence mattered. People who logged 7,500 to 10,000 steps per day at a pace of about 100 steps per minute had the lowest risk of death from any cause during the study. However, other combinations of steps and speed were also beneficial, reinforcing the potential of flexible approaches to improve fitness, health, and lifespan. For people who walked less than 5,000 steps per day, speeding up to at least 80 steps per minute reduced early-death risk. For those who could manage 5,000 to 7,500 steps per day, reaching at least 60 steps per minute was helpful.
Essentially, if you have limited time, you can walk faster for fewer steps. If you can’t walk as fast, take more strides at a slower pace. “In our study, adults accumulating fewer than 5,000 steps a day at a higher stepping intensity had a risk of early death in the same region as people taking 5,000 to 7,500 steps at a more leisurely pace, with a similar pattern for cardiovascular disease mortality,” Stamatakis says. “At least around 85% to 90% of all steps in the population are taken at light intensity, so there is room for improvement.”
How fast should you walk?
Aim for a moderate-intensity pace if you’re able to. “Around 100 steps per minute marks the start of moderate intensity, so 100 to 130 steps per minute is a good goal for people who currently walk slowly,” Stamatakis says. Faster walkers can try to add even more steps to their regular pace.
If you have access to one, a fitness tracker’s steps-per-minute function can help you track speed. Then, use your breathing as your guide as you pick up your speed. “You should notice it getting faster, and if intensity approaches upper moderate to vigorous you would manage a sentence but not a comfortable conversation,” says Stamatakis. “Begin with a few brisker stretches inside the walks you already take, and build from there.”
