If You Can Walk at This Pace, You’re in Great Shape, Doctors Say

We all know that walking—especially as part of a rigorous routine—can benefit your heart and boost your health. Now experts say that it can also offer crucial clues into not only your fitness levels but also your projected longevity.

In fact, some clinicians are using a simple walking test to determine how likely their patients are to experience certain health setbacks. They say that if you can walk at a particular pace, you’re likely operating with higher physical function, and may have a lower risk of “disease, disability, or death.”

Sara Bonnes, MD, medical director of the Healthy Longevity Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, recently told Business Insider that she uses this seconds-long walking test as a marker of health and longevity.

“It tells me how well people are functioning, how well their muscles are moving and working together,” Bonnes explained. “We can do complex tests to measure how well people’s physical fitness level is, but this is a smaller, easier version that still tells me: are you moving well and getting around well for your age?”

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Here’s how to try it at home:

To try it, begin by measuring out a flat, straight path spanning six meters, or 19.68 feet. Then, using a stopwatch to time yourself, walk at your highest possible speed. You may need to warm up by beginning two to three meters behind your starting point. Begin the timer when you cross the starting line—not before.

Older adults who can complete the test in under six seconds at a rate of one meter per second are considered to have “high-functioning gait speed.” Meanwhile, a 2005 study suggests that taking longer than 8.6 seconds to walk that distance is associated with a higher risk of fall or hospitalization.

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Why gait speed means so much:

Besides indicating a higher fall risk, reduced gait speed can also signal more rapid biological aging, research suggests.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), individuals “with slower gait speed were aging faster, as measured by a set of 19 biomarkers that included body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, cardiorespiratory fitness and gum health.”

Referencing a 2019 study published in JAMA Network Open, the NIH adds that heart and brain aging have a notable correlation with gait speed.

“Compared with participants who walked faster, they had a smaller brain, a thinner brain cortex (which controls thinking, information processing and other brain functions) and more white matter hyperintensities—a sign of vascular disease and a risk factor for stroke and dementia,” the experts wrote. “Participants with slower gait speed also performed worse on tests of memory, processing speed, reasoning and other cognitive functions.”

Another study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that women between the ages of 50 and 79 who walked with a quick gait speed saw their risk of heart failure reduced by 34 percent compared with slower walkers.

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How to improve your gait speed:

It’s not uncommon for your gait speed to slow as you age. However, experts say that making a concerted effort to keep both your step count and step speed high can shield you from adverse health outcomes.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends aiming for 150 minutes of brisk walking each week as a healthy way to lower your risk of chronic illness, including heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, dementia, and certain types of cancer.

And remember—brief bursts of activity throughout the day can be just as effective as longer bouts of walking. Not only will this help build muscle and balance, but it will also help build endurance, making more forms of exercise possible.