Your walking speed may hold a clue to how long you’ll live, study suggests

A UK study found that adults who walked faster, both during a short test and in everyday life, had a lower risk of dying over nearly 12 years. Walking pace may offer a useful snapshot of health because it draws on strength, balance, heart and lung function, and coordination.

The study followed 4,067 people, aged about 69 on average; 739 died during follow-up. Researchers adjusted for other health and lifestyle factors, but the results show an association, not that walking faster itself extends life. Participants were generally healthier than the wider population, and there is no single standard way to measure everyday pace with wrist trackers.