Scientists discover remarkable health impact of a daily ‘fast walk’

Hitting 10,000 steps a day is a goal for millions of us—but we should be focusing on the pace not the paces, according to a new study. 

Research suggests that going on a daily brisk 15-minute walk could boost heart health and reduce risk of death by 19 per cent. 

US researchers, who studied more than 79,850 adults from low-income areas, found that a short brisk walk was more beneficial than walking at a slower pace for three hours, even when overall leisure-time physical activity levels were accounted for. 

Experts argued that the findings show that walking, particularly at a brisk pace, is an effective form of exercise—especially for those in low income areas— that could protect against heart disease. 

It comes as alarming data released last year revealed that premature deaths from cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, had hit their highest level in more than a decade. 

In the UK, around 420 people of working age die of as a result of heart disease each week, which works out as 21,975 people a year.

In the current study, which analysed data from the Southern Community Cohort Study between 2002 and 2009, participants reported how many minutes they spent per day engaging in walking slowly and walking fast. 

Walking at work, engaging in light exercise or walking the dog were classed as ‘walking slowly’, whereas more dynamic activities such as climbing the stairs, brisk walking and exercise were considered fast. 

Over a follow-up of just under 17 years, the researchers discovered that walking fast for as little as 15 minutes per day reduced the risk of all cause mortality by nearly 20 per cent. 

Writing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, they found the effect was most pronounced for cardiovascular disease. 

According to Professor Wei Zeng, lead investigator and expert in lifestyle factors and diseases, fast walking could reduce cardiovascular mortality by improving how efficiently the heart works and reducing obesity. 

This style of exercise has previously been shown to increase VO2-max—a measure of how much oxygen the body can process during exercise. 

A high VO2 max is associated with better physical fitness and lower risk of cardiovascular disease, indicating that the body is efficiently extracting and using oxygen from the blood. 

Prof Zeng concluded: ‘Brisk walking offers a convenient, accessible and low-impact activity that individuals of all ages and fitness levels can use to improve general health and cardiovascular health specifically.’ 

The experts, lead by Professor Lili Liu, lead author and trainee epidemiologist, are now urging health officials to encourage fast walking within all communities—especially those with limited access to healthcare—and address barriers to daily walking such as safety concerns. 

They added: ‘Public health campaigns and community-based programmes can emphasise the importance and availability of fast walking to improve health outcomes. 

‘Individuals should strive to incorporate more intense physical activity into their routines, such as brisk walking or other forms of aerobic exercise.’ 

The scientists, however, acknowledged that because physical activity data was only collected at the beginning of the study, changes in activity levels could not be considered. 

The paper also had some limitations, they said, including the fact daily walking levels were self-reported. 

Sedentary lifestyles in the UK, with Brits spending their workhours deskbound, then sitting in a train or car on their way home to sit down in front of the TV, have been estimated to kill thousands each year.

The WHO puts the annual global death toll from physical inactivity at around 2million per year, making it in the running to be among the top 10 leading causes of global death and disability.

Physical inactivity has been long linked to health problems like cardiovascular disease as well contributing to health problems like obesity, itself linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

Cases of heart attacks, heart failure and strokes among the under-75s had tumbled since the 1960s thanks to plummeting smoking rates, advanced surgical techniques and breakthroughs such as stents and statins.

But now, other factors such as slow ambulance response times for category 2 calls in England — which includes suspected heart attacks and strokes — as well as long waits for tests and treatment have also been blamed.