Health & Lifestyle

Are YOU a dawdler? Why you’re more likely to die from cancer: Researchers rave over health benefits of walking at at least 4mph

  • Brisk walkers — walking at least 4 miles per hour — slash their risk of dying early
  • Scientists believe they boost health and fitness, protecting them from disease

Hitting 10,000 steps a day is a goal for millions of us. But the pace we walk at may be a more important target to focus on.

Research suggests brisk walkers — above 4mph — are less likely to die from cancer or suffer a heart attack.

Scientists believe being speedy on your feet boosts fitness and protects against the diseases.

But the researchers noted that their findings could be down to healthier people being able to walk quicker. 

Brisk walkers — those who clock up speeds of more than 4mph — are less likely to die from cancer or suffer a heart attack

Brisk walkers — those who clock up speeds of more than 4mph — are less likely to die from cancer or suffer a heart attack 

University of Leicester researchers monitored 391,652 people, aged 57 on average, included in the UK Biobank.

Participants self-reported their walking pace as ‘slow’ (below 3mph), ‘steady/average’ (3-4mph) or ‘brisk’ (above 4mph).

Just 6.6 per cent said they walked slowly, 52.6 per cent fell into the steady category and 40.8 per cent self-reported a brisk pace. 

Participants were tracked for 13 years, on average, over which time 22,000 deaths were recorded.

NHS guide for boosting your step count 

Make it a habit

The easiest way to walk more is to make walking a habit, the NHS says.

Think of ways to include walking in your daily routine.

Examples include: 

  • walking part of your journey to work
  • walking to the shops
  • using the stairs instead of the lift
  • leaving the car behind for short journeys
  • walking the kids to school
  • doing a regular walk with a friend
  • going for a stroll with family or friends after dinner

Listen to music

Walking while listening to music or a podcast can take your mind off the effort.

It can also get you into a rhythm and help you walk faster.

You’ll be surprised at how fast the time goes when you’re walking to your favourite tunes.

Mix it up 

Add variety to your walks. You do not have to travel to the countryside to find a rewarding walk.

Towns and cities offer interesting walks, including parks, heritage trails, canal towpaths, riverside paths, commons, woodlands, heaths and nature reserves.

Join a walking group 

Walking in a group is a great way to start walking, make new friends and stay motivated.

Ramblers organises group walks for health, leisure and as a means of getting around for people of all ages, backgrounds and levels of fitness.

Advertisement

Results, published in the journal Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, show women who had a brisk walking pace were 26 per cent less likely to die of cancer than self-confessed dawdlers.

Men faced a 29 per cent lower risk, compared to that of slow walkers.

Fast-paced women faced a 60 per cent reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. For men, the figure was 62 per cent.

Both sexes saw their chance of dying early from other causes, such as dementia and respiratory diseases, fall by 71 per cent if they walked fast, according to the data.

The research only proves a correlation, not a cause-and-effect. 

However Dr Jonathan Goldney and his team suggested that a faster walking pace could boost cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) — how well the body takes in oxygen and delivers it to muscles and organs during exercise.

This, in theory, may protect against cardiovascular disease — an umbrella term which includes strokes and heart attacks.

High levels of CRF have previously been linked to improved cardiac output — the amount of blood the heart pumps — and better oxygen uptake. 

It is unclear how fast walking pace reduced the risk of dying early from other causes of deaths, such as cancer, dementia and respiratory diseases.

But staying healthy in old age has been shown to cut the risk of both. 

However, the researchers noted their findings could be down to ‘reverse causality’, meaning those who walk slowly may have been in worse shape. 

Under that same theory, they could have had an undiagnosed condition that also raises their risk of dying earlier. 

The researchers suggested that doctors could ask patients for their self-reported walking pace to use as a ‘predictive marker’ of health.

For those who don’t know how fast they walk, researchers have previously suggested that being slightly out of breath or sweaty when walking are signs of a brisk pace.

The NHS says adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise.

It says a brisk ten-minute walk daily counts towards its recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise. 

Walking is one of the easiest ways to get active, lose weight and stay healthy, as it can build stamina, burn calories and make the heart healthier, the NHS adds.


Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News

Daily M

Related posts

I had a toothache – it turned out to be cancer and I was told I had 6 years to live

BBC Brk News

30 Brits are sickened in E. coli outbreak linked to artisan cheese: Health chiefs issue urgent recall and slap ‘do not eat’ notice on four types popular in Christmas hampers

BBC Brk News

No more embarassMINT: Men can now discreetly take Viagra in the form of breath mints

BBC Brk News

Leave a Comment