A new study has found that people who walk faster can expect to live longer, a new study has found.
Health experts at the University of Leicester and Loughborough University collected data from nearly 500,000 people across the UK, who were a range of weights.
Their findings revealed that underweight people who walk slowly have the lowest life expectancy – 72 for women and 64 for men. The average UK life expectancy is 79 for men and around 82 for women.
It is the first time research has associated fast walking pace with a longer life expectancy, regardless of a person’s weight or waist size.
People who walk faster have a longer life expectancy, no matter what their weight, the data suggests (PA)
“Our findings could help clarify the relative importance of physical fitness compared to body weight on life expectancy of individuals,” said the study’s co-author, University of Leicester professor Tom Yates.
“In other words, the findings suggest that perhaps physical fitness is a better indicator of life expectancy than body mass index (BMI), and that encouraging the population to engage in brisk walking may add years to their lives,”
The research used data from the UK Biobank of 474,919 people across the country and was analysed at the National Institute for Health Research, Leicester Biomedical Research Centre.