Walk fast, live longer? McMaster University researchers say walking speed is an important health indicator

According to McMaster researchers on aging, walking speed could be considered a vital sign of sorts for seniors.

“Walking speed is a measurable indicator of a fundamental function,” Julie Richardson, a professor in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University, told CBC Hamilton. 

She’s one of the authors of a piece on walking speed published on the university’s Optimal Aging Portal in October. The blog post describes walking speed as an “important indicator of mobility, independence, and overall health,” and says slower speeds “have been linked to increased risk of falls, reduced physical activity, and even cognitive decline.”

Of those who can, younger people can generally walk without thinking about it, Richardson said, but that changes as we age. Then, more thinking is needed to balance and adapt to changing environments. Taking shorter steps, spending more time with both feet on the ground, and spending more time stooped over also come with age. 

Since it’s easy to measure, calculating your walking speed and comparing it to the average for people your age is one way Richardson and her team say you can monitor your overall health. 

To measure walking speed, Richardson recommends two methods. In the first, you walk 20 metres, taking five to warm up at the start and cool down at the end, timing the 10 m in the middle. Then, you divide 10 m by the number of seconds it took you to calculate your speed.

The other method requires walking 6 m total, with 1 m to warm up and 1 m to cool down, timing the 4 m in the middle.

Using a handout on the website, you can then see how your speed compares to the average for people in your age group. For example, the average speed for women in their 60s is 1.24 metres per second. 

Richardson said the averages don’t take into account mobility devices such as walkers. 

If your speed is slower than average, think about why, and consider talking to a physician or physiotherapist, she said. 

Self-monitoring is important as we age, Richardson added, and if you notice any issues, “the big thing is to intervene early.”

Resources from her team, including videos featuring her colleague Dr. Anthony Levinson, include exercises to improve speed focused on strength and flexibility, overall fitness and training one’s brain.

“If you can, you should try to walk five or six times a week for at least 30 minutes,” Richardson said. “You can try to take short periods during that walk to increase your speed a little bit and then you can slow down. Practising that over time you may be able to [increase] your speed.”

Walking faster has health benefits but also practical safety benefits, such as being able to cross a street with enough time at a signalled intersection, Richardson said.