Walk to Live: Walking Reduces Mortality Risk
Walking for less than 150 minutes a week reduces the risk of all-cause mortality among older adults, according to the findings of a recent study. This risk is reduced even more for those who walk at or above the recommended physical activity levels.
In their study, the researchers analyzed the data of 62,178 men and 77,077 women involved in a large US prospective cohort study (mean age 70.7 years and 68.9 years, respectively). They calculated multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) to assess the relationship between all-cause and cause-specific mortality and walking as the only type of exercise and adjusted for other types of moderate- or- vigorous-intensity physical activity.
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Over the 13 years of follow-up, 24,688 men and 18,933 women died.
The researchers found that walking below the recommended levels of physical activity was associated with lower all-cause mortality compared with inactivity (HR 1.26). Additionally, they found that individuals who walked 150 minutes during the week or for double the recommended time had a lower risk for all-cause mortality (HR 0.8).
“In older adults, walking below minimum recommended levels is associated with lower all-cause mortality compared with inactivity,” the researchers concluded. “Walking at or above physical activity recommendations is associated with even greater decreased risk. Walking is simple, free, and does not require any training, and thus is an ideal activity for most Americans, especially as they age.”
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Patel PV, Hildebrand JS, Leach CR, et al. Walking in relation to mortality in a large prospective cohort of older U.S. adults [published online October 19, 2017]. Am J Prev Med. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.08.019.