Faster Walking, Greater Health Benefits?
Frailty in older adults — often marked by symptoms of decreasing vitality, including unintentional weight loss, weakness, fatigue, slow movement, and low activity — raises the risk of falls, hospitalization, and loss of independence. Walking is a proven way to counter frailty, but how fast do older adults need to walk to realize health benefits?
Investigators at the University of Chicago Medical Center developed a smartphone app to measure walking cadence as accurately as research grade-devices. They asked 102 elderly and frail adults to use the app while either walking at a casual or high-intensity pace. The latter group increased their pace to about 100 steps per minute — just 14 steps per minute above their normal speed. The study team found that people who walked at a faster pace experienced significant improvements to their physical function and endurance.
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