Walking speed
Faster usual walking speed went with longer survival in people 65 and over.
How to do it
- Mark a start line and a finish line 4 meters (13 feet 1 inch) apart, with room to walk past the finish.
- Stand with your toes at the start line.
- Walk at your usual pace, as if you were walking down the street. Don't hurry.
- Time from your first step until your first foot crosses the finish line. Someone else timing you is easiest. Do it twice and use the faster time.
- On a phone you can time it alone: put the phone in a front trouser pocket, walk on the tone, and turn right round as you cross the finish. The turn stops the timer, as in a validated home version of this test.
Your result
Nothing you enter leaves this page unless you save your result.
What the research found
Each 0.1 meters per second faster went with 12% lower risk of death. At about 0.8 m/s, people had the life expectancy typical for their age and sex; at 1.0 m/s or faster, they consistently lived longer than expected. The authors suggest speeds under 0.6 m/s may mark higher risk.
Studied in: 34,485 people aged 65 and over in nine long-running studies.