A study recently published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine analyzing an underrepresented cohort of nearly 80,000 low-income Black Americans predominantly in the South confirms the benefits of brisk walking. This study affirms the well-known benefits and highlights how pace matters, revealing that how fast you walk offers a powerful and accessible tool for improving health across underserved communities.
This study, published by Elsevier, involved data from 79,856 participants enrolled in the Southern Community Cohort Study, across 12 Southeastern U.S. states, underscores the importance of walking at a brisk pace as an effective form of physical activity for improving both health and lifespan.
“While the health benefits of daily walking are well-established, limited research has investigated effects of factors such as walking pace on mortality, particularly in low-income and Black/African-American populations. Our research has shown that fast walking as little as 15 minutes a day, was associated with a nearly 20% reduction in total mortality, while a smaller reduction in mortality was found in association with more than three hours of daily slow walking. This benefit remained strong even after accounting for other lifestyle factors and was consistent across various sensitivity analyses,’ said Lead investigator Wei Zheng, MD, PhD, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
For this study, the participants reported the average amount of time per day they spend “walking slowly (such as moving around, walking at work, walking the dog, or engaging in light exercise)” and “walking fast (such as climbing stairs, brisk walking, or exercising).” Information regarding vital status and cause of death was obtained by linking the cohort to the National Death Index.
Brisk Walking = Living Longer
The analysis revealed that the protective effect of brisk walking extended to all causes of death, but it was more pronounced for cardiovascular diseases. Notably, the benefits of brisk walking were independent of overall leisure time physical activity levels (LTPA), even for those already engaged in slow walking or some LTPA; the addition of more brisk walking reduced mortality even further.
The populations in this study often face economic constraints and have limited access to safe walking spaces. They also tend to have a higher prevalence of unfavorable lifestyle behaviors that may increase their risks of disease and mortality, which, when combined with lack of access to healthcare and health insurance, may amplify those effects. Collectively, all of these factors can contribute to increased disease and mortality.
This study suggests that the benefits of brisk walking related to cardiovascular health include: boosting heart efficiency, managing cardiovascular risk factors, and high accessibility. By demonstrating these benefits, the findings provide direct evidence of the benefits of brisk walking to inform targeted interventions and policies to help improve health equity.
“Public health campaigns and community-based programs can emphasize the importance and availability of fast walking to improve health outcomes, providing resources and support to facilitate increased fast walking within all communities. Furthermore, the findings of the reduced mortality associated with fast walking pace were supported by previous studies conducted in middle- and upper-middle-income populations. Individuals should strive to incorporate more intense physical activity into their routines, such as brisk walking or other forms of aerobic exercise,” concluded Lead author of the article Lili Liu, MPH, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, School of Medicine, and Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
This article was created at the WHN News Desk.
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