“Walking is a man’s best medicine.” So said Hippocrates. And it seemingly worked for the Ancient Greek, as it’s generally accepted that he lived into his 80s and even early 90s.
But would he have made the century if, as recent research suggests, he added a briskness to his walks? In fact, just 15 minutes of speedy striding each day can boost your lifespan.
What are the benefits of walking quickly?
Many studies have revealed the physical and mental benefits of walking. Research in Brazil showed that the participants who racked up 10,000 steps per day significantly slashed their weight and body mass index (BMI), while expressing lower anxiety, depression and fatigue. Research out of Stanford University also showed that walking cranked up creativity compared to sedentary thought.
Now, a study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine reveals that a brisk 15-minute walk each day cuts mortality risk by 20%, especially in low-income communities.
The team, led by Wei Zheng of the Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, USA, used data from the Southern Community Cohort Study, a large-scale epidemiological research project designed to understand health disparities, that involved 79,856 predominantly low-income and Black individuals across 12 south-eastern US states.
The subjects reported the average amount of time per day they spent walking slowly or walking fast. Walking slowly comprised efforts like walking the dog, walking at work, even engaging in light exercise. Walking fast involved activities like climbing the stairs, brisk walking or exercising.
“Our research has shown that fast walking as little as 15 minutes a day was associated with a nearly 20% reduction in total mortality,” said Zheng, “while a smaller reduction in mortality was found in association with more than three hours of daily slow walking. The benefit remained strong even accounting for other lifestyle factors like lower-quality diets.”
This is good news for BBC Countryfile readers whose intensity naturally fluctuates on a long walk in the countryside due to hills and gnarly terrain.
This life longevity came about, the research continued, due to myriad reasons. As an aerobic exercise, brisk walking improved cardiac output (amount of blood pumped by the heart in one minute). That increased oxygen delivery, leading to better cardiovascular health. Regular fast walking also boosts fat burning, helping to control bodyweight and composition, cut obesity and related risks like hypertension.
Japanese walking
The research taps into the latest exercise trend to dominate social media: Japanese walking. The idea is a simple one: you alternate between three minutes of fast and three minutes of slow walking, ideally for 30 minutes at a time and ideally at least four times a week.
Japanese walking is actually a nickname for a fitness technique called ‘interval walking training’, aka IWT, which was devised around 20 years ago by researchers Dr Hiroshi Nose and Dr Shizue Maskuki. According to a 2007 study they led, which involved an analysis of data from 139 healthy subjects with an average age of 63, people who undertook IWT four or more days a week over a five-month period increased their maximum aerobic capacity, a sigh of increased fitness. These improvements were greater than those who’d undertaken a walking regime of continuous, moderate intensity or those who didn’t walk at all.
It's said that this approach is particularly suited to middle-aged or older adults who don’t regularly train and those suffering from running injuries, as IWT is easier on the joints. Those of you who already burst with fitness would need to jog or run during those work intervals to experience similar benefits.
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