Summarised by Centrist
A new study outlines the heart health benefits of brisk walking and its potential to lower the risk of premature death.
Focusing on nearly 80,000 low-income and African-American participants aged 40–79 years in the US Southeast, researchers found that just 15 minutes of fast walking daily was linked to a nearly 20 percent reduction in mortality risk.
Even slow walking showed some cardiovascular benefits, though less pronounced.
The study tracked participants for almost 17 years, noting about 27,000 deaths during that time, mostly from cardiovascular disease. While nearly half of the participants reported no fast walking, those who did experienced significantly lower death rates, especially from heart-related illnesses.
Experts caution that fast walking may simply reflect overall fitness rather than being a direct cause of improved health.
Nevertheless, they say the findings offer a useful way for doctors to encourage personalised physical activity goals, particularly in high-risk populations.
Dr David Cutler, a family medicine physician, called the findings “great hope” for improving health among disadvantaged groups and advised supplementing traditional risk management with “evidence-based science” showing that 15 minutes of brisk walking can lower the chance of dying prematurely.
