Walking speed and cardiovascular deaths and ROJoson Advice

21mar21 – I came across this article published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings:

Comparative Relevance of Physical Fitness and Adiposity on Life Expectancy

A UK Biobank Observational Study

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(19)30063-1/pdf

Abstract

Objective

To investigate the extent to which 2 measures of physical fitness—walking pace and handgrip strength—are associated with life expectancy across different levels of adiposity, as the relative importance of physical fitness and adiposity on health outcomes is still debated.

Patients and Methods

Usual walking pace (self-defined as slow, steady/average, brisk), dynamometer-assessed handgrip strength, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and body-fat percentage determined at baseline in the UK Biobank prospective cohort study (March 13, 2006, to January 31, 2016). Life expectancy was estimated at 45 years of age.

Results

The median age and BMI of the 474,919 participants included in this analysis were 58.2 years and 26.7 kg/m², respectively; over a median follow-up of 6.97 years, 12,823 deaths occurred. Participants reporting brisk walking pace had longer life expectancies across all levels of BMIs, ranging from 86.7 to 87.8 years in women and 85.2 to 86.8 years in men. Conversely, subjects reporting slow walking pace had shorter life expectancies, being the lowest observed in slow walkers with a BMI less than 20 kg/m² (women: 72.4 years; men: 64.8 years). Smaller, less consistent differences in life expectancy were observed between participants with high and low handgrip strength, particularly in women. The same pattern of results was observed for waist circumference or body-fat percentage.

Conclusion

Brisk walkers were found to have longer life expectancies, which was constant across different levels and indices of adiposity. These findings could help clarify the relative importance of physical fitness and adiposity on mortality.

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The study defined a “brisk walk” as a pace that hits speeds of 3 mph, or 100 steps per minute. “Slow walkers” referred to individuals that hit speeds, between 1 to 2 mph, or 50 steps per minute.  

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ROJoson Takeaway:

If I follow this principle which I believe in since 2010 –

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” —-Buddha [Oct 30, 2010]

it agrees with my own reason and my own common sense –

I WILL THEREFORE MAKE USE OF THE FINDINGS.

1. For my own self, I will try to have at least 100 steps per minute walk in my daily walk of 6 km (3 km in the morning and 3 km in the afternoon). I made the count today (21mar21). I average 110 steps per minutes. I will maintain this pace at least or make it 120 to 130 steps per minute. [Note; My blood pressure has been below 140/90 for the past 10 days with Amlodipine 5 mg one tab three times a day.]
2. For others, I will advise to do brisk walking (at least 100 steps per minutes) daily for at least 30 minutes.

ROJ@21mar21

See related ROJoson Post:

Lately, I noticed I am having difficulty finishing 3-km straight walk