When you walk faster, your heart rate and breathing increase.
According to sports medicine specialist Denice Ichinoe, higher-intensity walking can improve fitness over time and strengthen the heart and cardiovascular system, National Geographic reports.
Matthew Bowman, clinical associate professor of physical therapy at Binghamton University, told National Geographic that a stronger heart can circulate blood and oxygen throughout the body more efficiently. Increased blood flow may also help lower blood pressure.
The familiar target
Many people associate 10,000 steps a day with a healthy level of physical activity.
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According to National Geographic, however, the figure originally came from the marketing of a Japanese pedometer in the 1960s rather than from scientific research.
A new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine examined activity data from more than 64,000 participants in the UK Biobank. They were 62 years old on average and were followed for around eight years.
The study can only show associations. It therefore cannot prove that a particular way of walking directly extends life.
Pace can matter
People who walked between 7,500 and 10,000 steps a day had the lowest overall risk of death.
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However, the researchers also found that people who took fewer than 5,000 steps a day had a lower risk of death if they walked faster during their most active periods, compared with people who took roughly the same number of steps at a slower pace.
The findings therefore suggest that the number of steps may not be the only factor worth focusing on. Your walking speed may matter too.
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This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.