Walking About 10 More Steps a Minute Was Linked to a 17% Lower Death Risk Over 12 Years

Your pace is a number now

Doctors have timed how fast older patients walk down a hallway for years.

This study asked if the tracker on your wrist can tell them the same thing.

What the study did

The researchers, from institutions including the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Université Paris Cité, used data from the Whitehall II study of British civil servants. Between 2012 and 2013, participants walked a 2.44-meter course in a clinic at their usual pace, and wore a wrist accelerometer for up to nine days at home. The team then tracked deaths through August 2024. The 4,067 participants averaged 69 years old, and about three in four were men.

Your wrist tracker may already know your walking pace. This study says that number matters.The WellWham perspective

What they found

After adjusting for factors including demographics, behaviors and health conditions, all three measures were linked to lower risk of death, per one standard deviation higher, according to the study:

Health Chosun, which covered the study, reports that one standard deviation was about 0.3 meters per second for clinic speed and about 10 steps a minute for cadence. The three measures predicted death about equally well, though only clinic walking speed improved a model built on standard risk factors, the authors write.

Our read: your step data is getting a second job

This is our analysis. Wearables already estimate fitness markers like VO2 max in the background. Cadence could be next, since your watch or ring already counts steps per minute. The study’s own conclusion is narrower. The authors say both methods can be used in population research, and the choice depends on the research goal.

The reality check

This is an observational study, so it can’t show that walking faster makes you live longer. People who already walk briskly may simply be healthier. The group was older, mostly male and British, and study author Rayan Haddadj told Health Chosun the results need to be replicated in other populations. If walking has gotten harder or slower for you, mention it to your doctor.

The close

A hallway test once measured your pace.

Now your wrist does it every day. What this study can’t tell you yet is whether speeding up adds years.

Sources