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New research shows that how fast you walk, whether measured in a clinical test or through daily activity, can help predict your risk of dying from any cause.
The study compared two ways of measuring walking: a short walking speed test conducted in a clinic and the step rate people take in their everyday lives, measured with a wrist-worn device.
Both measures were linked to mortality risk and showed similar ability to predict it.
The findings, published on October 23 in JAMA Network Open, could help doctors and researchers choose the best method for assessing health risks in different settings.
Clinical walking speed vs. everyday walkingThe study was part of the Whitehall II accelerometer substudy in the United Kingdom.
It included 4,067 participants, mostly males, with an average age of about 69 years. About one-third of the subjects were female.
The researchers collected data from January 2012 to December 2013 and followed up through August 2024.
To measure clinical walking speed, participants completed a standard walking test. They walked a marked 2.44-meter course at their usual pace. The test was repeated three times, and the average speed in meters per second was used for analysis. Participants who normally used a cane were allowed to use it during the test.
For free-living walking measurements, participants wore a wrist-worn GENEActiv accelerometer for 9 consecutive days. This device recorded movement at a high frequency and used special software to detect walking episodes and count steps.
From this data, two key measures of walking cadence were calculated: the median walking cadence (the middle value of steps per minute during walking periods) and the 95th-percentile walking cadence (a higher step rate indicating brisk walking). The study also calculated the average number of daily steps.
The researchers additionally gathered information on factors known to affect mortality, such as:
National death records were used to identify deaths during the follow-up period.
Statistical methods were then used to estimate the risk of death associated with walking speed and cadence while accounting for other risk factors.
The models were adjusted step-by-step: starting with no adjustments, then adding sociodemographic factors, behavioral factors, and finally health-related factors.
The ability of walking measures to predict mortality was assessed using a statistical measure.
The study also examined differences between males and females.
The researchers additionally conducted analyses to test how well the results held up when they excluded early deaths, looked at subgroups by age and health status, and used different definitions of walking cadence.
Faster walking speed linked to 23% lower risk of deathDuring a median follow-up of nearly 12 years, 739 participants died.
The average clinical walking speed of participants was 1.2 meters per second. The median walking cadence during daily life was about 75 steps per minute, and the 95th percentile walking cadence was about 112 steps per minute.
The study found only a weak correlation between clinical walking speed and free-living walking cadence, meaning the two measures do not strongly reflect the same walking behavior. However, both measures were independently associated with a lower risk of death.
After adjusting for age, sex, lifestyle, and health factors, for every standard increase in clinical walking speed, the risk of death was 23% lower.
Similarly, higher median and 95th-percentile walking cadences were associated with 17% and 18% lower risks of death, respectively.
When examining how well these walking measures predicted mortality, each on its own showed modest predictive ability.
Adding clinical walking speed to a model with other known risk factors slightly improved mortality prediction, while adding free-living walking cadence also improved prediction, albeit to a similar degree to that of clinical walking speed.
Combining clinical walking speed with free-living walking parameters provided a small boost in predictive ability, but the effect was not significant after accounting for detailed health factors.
The study also found that walking speed and cadence had similar predictive power for both men and women, although the overall prediction models performed slightly better for women.
Several sensitivity analyses supported the main findings. Results were consistent when excluding early deaths, focusing on healthier or older participants, and using different ways to define walking cadence.
Overall, this study suggests that clinical walking speed tests and free-living walking cadence measurements from wrist-worn devices are both useful in predicting all-cause mortality risk. They provide similar information but reflect different aspects of walking behavior.
The choice between methods may depend on the purpose of the assessment, available resources, and the context in which the measurement is taken.
Faster walkers may live longer because they are healthierNeha Sabharwal, PT, DPT, a physical therapist and director of rehabilitation specializing in geriatric mobility and functional decline at Vintage Faire Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Modesto, CA, said that walking speed helps predict longevity because it’s an indicator of someone’s overall health.
“Walking is something most of us do without thinking about it, but it requires several body systems to work together,” she told Healthline. “Your heart and lungs have to keep up, your muscles need to produce enough force, and your brain has to coordinate each step while keeping you balanced.”
Sabharwal, who wasn’t involved in the study, said that in her work, she pays attention to when someone starts walking more slowly than before.
“It is easy to dismiss that change as part of getting older, but there may be something else going on,” she said. This could include muscle weakness, pain, reduced endurance, balance problems, or underlying medical conditions.
According to Sabharwal, the current study is valuable because it suggests that useful information about people’s movement can be obtained outside a clinical setting.
However, she cautioned against misinterpreting the findings to mean that simply walking faster will make you live longer.
“People who naturally walk faster may already have better underlying health,” said Sabharwal.
“I would be less concerned about whether someone walks faster than their neighbor and more interested in whether they are walking slower than they did six months ago,” she said.
What to do if your walking speed slowsTheodore Strange, MD, chairman of medicine at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital and senior vice president of the Metro Market Region at Northwell Health, shared some insights for those who may notice their walking speed has declined. Strange wasn’t involved in the study.
“I mean, if it’s slowing down because a week or two ago, you were walking up a flight of steps with no problem, and now, you’re having some shortness of breath, I think it should be evaluated,” he told Healthline.
Strange added that if you’re experiencing aches or pains that weren’t there before, you should consult a healthcare professional, as they can make exercise more difficult.
It’s also essential to manage any chronic diseases that you have so that you can exercise as well as possible within the constraints of your condition, he said.
“And I think slow and steady wins the race here,” said Strange. He suggests monitoring your walking with a device like a pedometer and progressively increasing your steps.
“Everybody talks about 10,000 steps a day. I think the most recent studies show probably 7,000 to 8,000 is adequate,” he said. You can start where you are and work your way up gradually.
Strange further noted that physical therapy can sometimes be helpful if you have issues with gait mechanics, balance, or strength. Additionally, you might benefit from exercise that is tailored to your condition, for example, if you’ve had a stroke.
Finally, Strange advised stretching before and after exercise to keep your muscles moving.
“I go back to adequate nutrition and hydration being important,” he said. You want to make sure you are adequately supporting your body’s ability to exercise, said Strange.