Pick Up the Pace to Boost Longevity!
Regular walking is widely recognized for its significant benefits to overall health and well-being. Previous research has primarily focused on middle-to-high-income White populations. Now, a novel analysis using data from the Southern Community Cohort Study, involving 79,856 predominantly low-income and Black individuals across 12 southeastern US states, confirms the benefits of regular walking, especially at a faster pace, within a crucial, underrepresented group. The new study appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, underscores the importance of promoting walking, particularly at a brisk pace, as an effective form of physical activity for improving health.
Lead investigator Wei Zheng, MD, PhD, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, says, “While the health benefits of daily walking are well-established, limited research has investigated effects of factors such as walking pace on mortality, particularly in low-income and Black/African-American populations. Our research has shown that fast walking as little as 15 minutes a day was associated with a nearly 20% reduction in total mortality, while a smaller reduction in mortality was found in association with more than three hours of daily slow walking. This benefit remained strong even after accounting for other lifestyle factors and was consistent across various sensitivity analyses.”
Excerpted from EurekAlert!
