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January 4th, 2011
04:00 PM ET
Walking speed may predict survival in seniorsWalking is probably an activity you take for granted, but scientists say it could have something to say about the survival of older people. A large study in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that walking speed may be a good predictor of the life expectancy of senior citizens. Slowing down, it seems, may actually mean the end is nearer. "This gives us another way to monitor our health and explore ways to age as well as possible," said Dr. Stephanie Studenski, researcher at the University of Pittsburgh and lead study author. This does not mean, however, that you should try to change your walking speed, she said. The point of the research is that many systems in your body - cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, nervous and others - contribute to the way that you walk, and the health of those systems may be reflected in your natural pace. Researchers analyzed data from nine different studies, collectively looking at nearly 35,000 adults aged 65 and older. Participants lived in the community - not in nursing homes or other institutions - at the time of the research and included members of both sexes and various ethnic groups. The various studies had looked at how fast participants walked over a fixed distance at a usual pace, beginning with them standing still. They found that the higher the walking speed, the longer a person is expected to live. This appears to be as good an indicator of longevity as age, sex, chronic conditions, smoking history, blood pressure, body mass index, and hospitalization history in the last year. For example, researchers found that for a 70-year-old man, the difference between walking 3 mi/hr and 3.5 mi/hr was four years of life on average; for a woman, it's six to seven years. A 70-year-old man who walks at 2.5 mi/hr would expected to live an average of eight years longer than if he walks at 1 mi/hr; for a woman, that difference is about 10 years. "If you have a natural walking speed that’s pretty brisk, that’s a good sign of how you’re doing," Studenski said. The study found that walking speed was the strongest predictor of lifespan in older people who were independent or only had trouble with non-instrumental functions such as shopping, housework and cooking. For those who cannot do basic activities such as feeding and dressing themselves on their own, walking speed may be less relevant. "If you’re already having a lot of trouble, gait speed doesn’t help as much," she said. Of course, this is all based on probabilities, and it's by no means a death sentence. There are some elderly people who walk slowly and will live many more years, just as there are certain people who have high blood cholesterol and never have a heart attack. One important potential application of this research is helping older people decide whether certain preventive tests, such as prostate cancer screenings, are worth their while. If their walking speed suggests that they are expected to live 10 more years at age 70, that might be an important factor in making decisions about such tests. Walking speed might one day become as relevant as blood pressure as an indicator of overall health, she said. But, it will take time to see how useful it is to doctors and patients. soundoff (1,526 Responses)1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Next »Leave a Reply to orange county awnings
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  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
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I'm dead!
I know. I just walked by you. Quickly!
Hmmm, so, if you, like, walk faster, then, um, that would mean your more heal-theeeeeeee???
Yes the answer is walking at a brisk rate..providing you are in a healthy state.. Runners usually end up at the Orthopedic Surgeon sooner or later..or Podiatrist... Walkers usually don't have need for these Medical Specialists..providing no foot defects..or obesity..or pre-existing conditions.. AT 63 with a knee replacement looming ahead I can only walk at 3.5 mile an hour tops now..and not every walk is that fast..But the benefit I get from walking 4 milees is 100 times better than the alternatives..
Dr. Gupta's comments about the speed of walking as an indication of how long one will live..has a flaw in it.
Take myself for instance...I have hip problems, but until they developed a few years ago I was a fast walker in that although small, my legs moved quickly, and I took longish paces, able to cover 1.25 miles in 35 minutes, carrying two plastic shopping bags full of library books. And the same on the way back. At that time I was about 78-80. Since my hip problems developed, I still walk, (but only about 2-3 times a week) at a fast pace -but not a fast MOVING pace, because my steps are rather chorter. So I can no longer cover a determined distance wthin a specific time.
Of course I am now 90 years old. But my dear late father lhved to be 86, and did not die of old age. His elder brother lived to be 96, and also did not die of old age, but from the shock of an otherwise successful operation. This was in the early 1970s when medical science was no as advanced as today. Today, doubtless both my father and uncle would have survived.
To finish this.. My late father's several uncles lived to be 105, 103, 98 end etc. His mother lived to be 92 and she walked only around her home. My eldest sister is now 99...My four brothers (2 younger and 2 older) died from a variety of Illnesses which were beyond the scope of medicine THEN .....but not now. I hope this of interest to you.
Hmmm...Dear Dr. Studenski, were the slow walkers also obese...which would seem to be a better indicator of life expectancy? Hmmm.....hmmmm....
This is addressed in the 4th paragraph regarding how all the systems work together. The point is not to say that walking speed predicts expectancy, rather it is correlated, and that perhaps could be used as an overall barometer of health rather than looking at each individual aspect (obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, activity level, etc). I have not read the study, but I imagine some of the variables may have been controlled as well. Of course, we are always looking for the holy grail that will tell us how long we can expect to live, unfortunately, I don't think that will ever be found and the best we can do is try to find the variable that is the most all-encompassing.
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According to the statements in one paragraph a 70 year old man walking 3.5 mph should live 12 years longer than 70 year old man walking 1 mph. That's if you combine the two statements about 70 year old men. Is that right or did I misread it?
Interesting findings. Health professionals have been measuring walking speeds and correlating these findings with falls and health for years. We use a get up and go assessment for our falls prevention program – both pre and post. Many clients see a significant improvement over the course of the classes.
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When my connective tissue disease flares up, the first thing my wife and I notice is that I start walking slower, whether or not I'm having joint pain in my legs and hips. And I can tell when my body has turned a corner in recovering when I naturally fall into my usual brisk walking pace. This study doesn't surprise me at all.
I do love the manner in which you have farmed this particular situation and it does indeed provide me personally a lot of fodder for thought. However, from everything that I have personally seen, I simply trust when the remarks pack on that individuals stay on issue and don't get started on a soap box of some other news of the day. All the same, thank you for this superb point and even though I can not really concur with the idea in totality, I respect the point of view.
Walking speed DOES correlate with survival, though it depends how fast the lions are running as well.
That is amusing.
Liz – I was actually thinking zombies.....
I didn’t realise Seattle had a Zoo , let alone badly fenced ..
This study is
1) totally expected
2) completely irrelevant
THere are so many related risk factors such as CHF, COPD, cadiac disease, peripheral vascular disease, obesity, acute illness, etc. that are contributing this finding. Of course walking speed is correlated with life expectancy. The number of ashtrays in a household is related to the risk of getting lung cancer as well. If you focus on walk speed, you are missing the point.
This study is a giant waste of time and wont lead to any important change in medical care. No one is going to decide about screening for cancer based on walking time. You need to look at the underlying reasons for a person's life expectancy. Lets focus on treating real diseases instead of measuring the walk times of a bunch of senior citizens. Some doctors have too much time on their hands (this is coming from a physician for what it's worth)
I think it is an interesting study and just because things may or may not be expected, there is no harm in confirming the expectation.
I didn't like the part of the article that talked about using walking speed as a means of denying cancer screening to those with a slow walking speed. That is health care discrimination (otherwise known as "rationing").
Scott, You are absolutely correct. But even if this report is totally bogus, think of how many older folks (my mother definitely will) will pick up their gait after reading this. That's a good thing. I'm a firm believer that we don't wear out, we rust out.
Scott, why do you keep reading these articles and then slamming them? Most people who read newspapers and sites like this are lay people who may have no knowledge of the topic. If you already know so much, why are you wasting your time on articles that target beginning and novice health readers? Read something more advanced. People like my elderly family members really learn from these articles and find it sparks informative conversations with peers and family. Read scholarly journals–that's what they are for.
For what it's worth.....Not much
I will be 93 this April,2-11. I have noticed I do walk slower, that's why I bough a new 2011 Camaro 2 months ago!!
Now I'm worried about the speed that you're driving. Old people notoriously drive slow which annoys other drivers... and a 93 year old driving fast scares the heck out of me.
GO Marvin!!!!!
I find my gait can change with weather and prior exertion; getting to 64 I thought this change normal.I too will pick up the pace yet avoid slipping or tripping and falling due to uneven pavement, dog feces, icy slush and stuff humans throw in the streets.
Interesting that they call out the horrifying ramifications of such studies, though somewhat sugar-coated. "Seniors can decide if medical tests are worth their while." Fascinating, except that the insurance companies will be determining what is worth your while. Perhaps even denying coverage if the elderly can't sprint at the specified pace. The devaluation of human life in my short lifetime is an absolute tragedy. Let's deny the elderly treatments, medications, and preventive care – – and move one step closer to euthanasia by neglect.
Beats being left out on an iceberg if you're an Eskimo, or alone with an old teepee and water bag if you were a more southerly native 'merican (I'm 63 and have the same concerns, tho).
This article does not surprise me.
We have a saying in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)：
人老腿先老 – A person ages starting from his or her legs.
Legs are the furthest parts from our body. Any degenerative effects due to aging (inflammations, poor blood circulation, blood vessel hardening, etc, etc) are typically reflected on our legs first.
Marvin,go you.Keep on keepin' on.
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Duh!
Harumphh, it doesn't say much for the University of Pittsburgh research program if this is the sort of thing that required an extensive study. What next, will they correlate poverty and substance abuse? Or perhaps correlating vegetative growth with sunlight?
My Mom is 80yo and we walk all the time as the weather allows, she can out walk me anytime and I used to run marathons. She also still works full-time, she is an awesome lady. I think this article is pretty close to true.
Anyone can "run" a marathon. Few can run them well. To say you've done one doesn't indicate that you're fast it just indicates that at one point you had the endurance to go a marathon distance at some unspecified, likely moderate, speed.
You know you're getting old when you start saying ... " I remember when..." 🙂
My father will be immortal – he's 93, 5'4" and walks fast enough that my 10 year old son is happy to go places with him......
My grandmother is about to turn 96 and the only thing that slows down her walking pace is her asthma that she's had all her life. She can really book it and she's sharp as a tack. Another indicator of her longevity is that her father lived to 103!
my FIL is the slowest walker I have ever seen, and always has been. But he is 85 and going strong. His wife who was a really speedy walker died in her 60's.
Duh. I hope tax payer (NIH grant) money was not spent on this.
I get infuriated at how slow some people walk in the city. Even worse is when you get groups of 3 or 4 that take up the entire sidewalk so you can't pass them.
I don't think this will ever be a valid health test. When you're tested, you'll just try to walk faster. You can't fake blood pressure or cholesterol, but you can fake you're natural walking speed.
How come this doesn't seem to apply to those Buddhists with leisurely gaits? Perhaps, they are the real gods!
my husband, 88,is running on the street. is sthis ok
I am 83 and I can walk a measured kilometre in a few seconds under12 minutes ( about 3 mph), however if asked to keep going at that pace for a full hour I would certainly fall at the wayside.
These old age performance figures surely need to be related to a total time as well as pace.
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I walk every day for one hour. I push myself to do treadmill at 2.5 but I can’t push myself to do more. I have Asthma and, hard as I try, I can’t do more. t 78 hours of age, this is Winterbactivity. In warmer days, I walk 3 to 3.5 miles but it takes 1.5 hours.
I am 86 and I walk my dog at 7:30 every day..I am a brisk walker and my daughters can not keep up with me...I have always walked briskly and at work people would say.."I knew you ere coming by your fast walk"..I wonder if one walks slower in cold weather than warm weather?..Today it was 33 degrees and I felt I was going slower
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My husband had bicuspid valve replaced 2 years ago he feels pretty good he decided last week to resume walking BUT he decided he’d go full blast out of the gate walking 1-8 mi in 30 min. He comes in panting and doesn’t do much else the rest of the day. His normal activity is reading the internet. Summer he’ll weed the lawn. I’m worried he’s pushing this walk too hard too fast. Any opinions out there?
Correction it’s 1.8 mi
First, how come there is a gap between 2011 and 2016 and gaps beyond? Now about me. I just turned 90. I walk on my property after getting out of the bed for 45-50 Minutes and cover about 2 miles. When I am finished I have no breathing problems, I experience no dizziness or any joint pain, just crave for breakfast and a cup of coffee after the hot shower ending it with a cold finale. What is wrong with me?
It should read not "born permit." but "born prematurely," I am sorry for the mistype.
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