Every extra 0.1 meters per second in walking speed goes with a 12% lower risk of dying during follow-up.
That comes from Studenski and colleagues, who pooled nine U.S. cohorts covering 34,485 community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older, followed for 6 to 21 years (JAMA. 2011). The pooled hazard ratio per 0.1 m/s was 0.88 (95% CI 0.87 to 0.90). In everyday terms, 0.1 m/s is about 0.36 km/h, or roughly 0.2 mph. A tiny difference.
The spread at age 75 is huge
The same paper built 10-year survival predictions from age, sex and gait speed. At age 75, predicted survival ranged from 19% to 87% for men and 35% to 91% for women, depending on how fast they walked. Same age, wildly different outlook.
Walking pulls on the heart, lungs, muscles, joints and brain all at once. The authors’ reading is that speed works as a rough summary of how much reserve the whole body has left.
This does not prove that walking faster makes you live longer
It is an observational pooled analysis. It shows an association, not a cause.
Reverse causation is the first suspect. People with heart failure, lung disease, painful joints or early cognitive decline walk slower to begin with. Slow walking may be a result of what is going on inside the body, not a lever you can pull. Whether training yourself to walk faster improves survival is outside what this study tested.
So treat it as a yardstick for noticing change, not as a diagnosis.
How to check yours, and where 1.0 m/s comes in
Find a hallway or sidewalk, mark 10 meters (5 if that is all you have), walk at your usual pace and time it. Ten meters in 10 seconds is 1.0 m/s.
The Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia’s 2019 consensus uses a 6-meter walk under 1.0 m/s as one marker of low physical performance (Chen et al., J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2020). Falling below that line is not a disease. It is a nudge to have grip strength and leg strength checked.
Pick a spot with a handrail, and do not rush to beat the clock. If you have a medical condition, feel unwell, or want to start exercise aimed at walking faster, please talk with your primary care doctor about the intensity first.
My own opinion, for what it is worth: time the same course once a month and jot it in a notebook next to your weight and blood pressure. The trend tells you more than any single number.
I cover legs, walking and staying independent in Walking to 110, available on Kindle.
References
- Studenski S, Perera S, Patel K, et al. Gait speed and survival in older adults. JAMA. 2011;305(1):50-58.
- Chen LK, Woo J, Assantachai P, et al. Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia: 2019 Consensus Update on Sarcopenia Diagnosis and Treatment. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2020;21(3):300-307.e2.