Want to cut your odds of an early death by almost 20%? Take just 15 minutes out of your day for a brisk walk, researchers advise.
While it’s known that regular walking is healthy, the new study suggests maintaining a peppy pace is key.
“Individuals should strive to incorporate more intense physical activity into their routines, such as brisk walking or other forms of aerobic exercise,” concludes study lead author Lili Liu of the Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Recommendations for brisk walking aren’t new. The U.S. government’s Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans says: “To attain the most health benefits from physical activity, adults need at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, like brisk walking or fast dancing, each week.”
The study’s main finding, according to study senior author. physician Wei Zheng: “Our research has shown that fast walking as little as 15 minutes a day was associated with a nearly 20% reduction in total mortality [deaths], while a smaller reduction in mortality was found in association with more than three hours of daily slow walking.”
Even after accounting for other lifestyle factors such as a person’s diet, smoking status and other forms of exercise, “this benefit remained strong even after accounting for other lifestyle factors,” said Zheng. He’s also at Vanderbilt’s Division of Epidemiology.
Just how might a brisk daily walk boost your health?
According to the researchers, aerobic exercise like this improves the heart’s efficiency, including its overall output, oxygen delivery and pumping action.
At the same, regular brisk walks help ward off obesity, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, the researchers said.
“These findings underscore the importance of promoting fast walking as a feasible and effective strategy to improve health outcomes,” the Nashville team concluded.