Step up your walking for a healthy heart

A recent study, aimed at people aged between 65 and 85, shows that older people need to walk fairly fast if they want to keep fit and reduce their chances of dying from a heart attack, says a report in Telegraph.

A slow rate of walking in older people has, in previous research, indicated a greater risk of falls and admission to hospital.

Named the Three City Study, the research was conducted at the University Pierre and Marie Curie in France. Researchers considered both variables, slow walking and risk of death, and investigated the relationship between them. The results demonstrate, as say the authors of the study, that staying fit and healthy as we age has tremendous benefits.

At the commencement of the study, participants had to provide relevant demographic and medical information. They then had to perform a walking test of over six metres, which was carried out by a speed camera. A sufficiently fast rate of walking for men was judged to be over 1.5 metres a second, while for women this was 1.5 metres per second.

The participants were then monitored over a five-year period. Walking speeds were divided into three, indicating lowest, middle and highest. At the beginning of the study, those in the lowest third ie the slowest walkers had a 44 per cent lower risk of death than did those in the higher ranges. In the same way, they also ran an increased risk of cardiovascular death. However, no relationship between low walking speed and risk of death from cancer was found.

The study showed that over a five-year period, older people who walked faster had a significantly lower risk of dying from heart problems in particular, than those who just ambled along.

The researchers also say that people may be walking slowly due to early undiagnosed symptoms of heart disease.

Fast walking is particularly beneficial as it has been proven to increase the good cholesterol in the blood, which helps to avoid heart disease.

The results applied equally to both men and women and also to those with moderate or low exercise levels.

The authors write in the British Medical Journal: "These findings show that assessment of motor performances in older people with simple measures such as walking speed can be performed easily and that the role of fitness in preserving life and function in older age is important."

The findings are supported by an associated editorial which also states that low walking speed in older people may be used as an indicator of future ill health.

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