Accelerating pace and walking faster can slow aging, a study found.
Academics say taking a faster speed improves health and that by the time a fast walker reaches middle age, their body will be equivalent to 16 years younger than a slow walker.
The researchers looked at each participant’s chromosomes, and in particular the end of a chromosome called a telomere, which protects genetic material from damage.
This small piece of DNA is a telltale sign of someone’s biological age as it shrinks over time. The longer a person’s telomere, the “younger” his body.
Each time a cell divides, these telomeres become shorter to the point where they become so short that the cell can no longer divide.
For the first study of its kind, the team looked at data from UK Biobank, a huge database containing health information from half a million people.
They compared genetic data with self-reported walking speeds and measurements of movement intensity from wearable activity tracking devices carried by participants.
Researchers have found that when a person reaches middle age, walking fast compared to walking slowly is equivalent to being 16 years younger.
Approximately half of the participants in the study described themselves as regular walkers, 41.1% believed they had a brisk gait and only 6.6% said they were working people.
“These findings support more intense normal movement, such as faster walking, as potentially important determinants of [biological age] and overall human health, “the researchers wrote in their study, published in Communications Biology.
Lead author Dr Paddy Dempsey of the University of Leicester said: “Previous research on the relationship between walking pace, physical activity and telomere length has been limited by inconsistent findings and a lack of high-quality data.
“This study uses genetic data to provide stronger evidence for a causal link between faster walking rates and longer telomere lengths.
“[It] suggests that measures such as the usual slower walking speed are a simple way to identify people at higher risk of chronic disease or unhealthy aging, and that activity intensity can play an important role in optimizing interventions.
“For example, in addition to increasing total walking, those who are able could seek to increase the number of steps taken at a time (for example, by walking faster to the bus stop). However, this requires additional investigation. “
Researchers at the University of Leicester have previously shown that just 10 minutes of brisk walking a day is associated with a longer life and that fast walkers can live up to 20 years longer than slow strollers.
Senior author of the study, Professor Tom Yates, said: “Although we have previously shown that the pace of walking is a very strong predictor of health, we have not been able to confirm that adopting a fast pace of walking actually leads to better health.
“In this study, we used information from people’s genetic profiles to show that a faster pace of walking is indeed likely to lead to a younger biological age as measured by telomeres.
The results are published in the journal Communications Biology.
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