It's time to pick up the pace. A new study found that senior adults' walking speed and coverage can have healthy benefits. Senior adults, who walk faster than three miles per hour, had a 50 percent lower risk of heart disease than those who walked at a pace slower than two miles per hour.
Findings also showed adults who enjoy a daily seven-block walk have 47 percent risk reduction in developing heart ailments compared to adults who walk just five blocks or fewer weekly. The research team analyzed 4,207 participants who took part in the Cardiovascular Health Study and followed from 1989 to 1999.
Organized by the National Institutes of Health, the long-running study looks at the risk factors for heart ailments among senior adults aged 65 years old and older. The researchers analyzed 10 years' worth of data taken from the participants annual physical exams that included walking pace and distance figures, as well as incidence of strokes and heart attacks.
"Our study of older Americans shows that, even late in life, moderate physical activity such as walking is linked to lower incidence of cardiovascular disease. Fortunately, walking is an activity that many older adults can enjoy," said lead author and postdoctoral candidate Luisa Soares-Miranda from the University of Porto in Portugal.
The research team also found that physically active senior adults had lower risks of heart-related incidents compared to more inactive adults. Other physical activities such as hiking, gardening, biking and swimming helped in lowering heart disease risks. The research was published in the journal Circulation on Nov. 19.
Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy dean stressed that many of the existing research that linked heart health and physical activity do not cover senior adults. Mozaffarian stressed the potential of the new findings in supporting the implementation of light to moderate physical activities and exercises to promote better health across all ages. By improving how people walk and how long they walk can lead to better heath regardless of age but would eventually benefit them in later life.
Photo: Giuseppe Milo | Flickr
