Your walking speed may hold a clue to how long you’ll live, study suggests

The speed a person normally walks could offer a simple clue about their overall health and longevity, new research suggests.

A study published in JAMA Network Open followed 4,067 adults in the U.K., who were about 69 years old on average, to see whether their usual walking pace was linked to their risk of death over time.

Participants completed a short walking test at their normal pace and also wore a wrist activity tracker for nine days to capture their walking speed during everyday life.

Over nearly 12 years of follow-up, faster walking in both settings was linked to a lower risk of death, even after researchers accounted for other health and lifestyle factors. A total of 739 participants died during that period.

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