It’s never too late to take a regular walk. A new study shows that 10 minutes of daily walking can prolong the life of people in their 80s and older.
“Adults are less likely to meet activity recommendations as they age,” said study author Dr Moo-Nyun Jin of Inje University’s Sanggye Paik Hospital in Seoul, South Korea. “Our research shows that walking for at least an hour a week is beneficial for people 85 and older.”
Although people tend to be less active as they get older, the US government says all adults should get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous activity.
For this new study, Jin’s team looked at the link between walking and the risk of death from various causes in more than 7,000 South Koreans aged 85 and older.
Compared with inactive people, those who walked for at least an hour a week had a 0% lower risk of death and a 39% lower risk of dying from heart problems during the study period, according to the study. result.
Study participants were part of Korea’s National Wellness Examination Program from 2009 to 2014 . They completed questionnaires on leisure time physical activity, including leisure time. intended for walking at a slow pace; moderate intensity activity such as cycling and brisk walking; and vigorous activities such as running.
The team grouped the participants according to the amount of time they spent each week walking slowly. About 57.5% do not go slow; 8.5% walk less than an hour; 12% walk for one to two hours; almost 9% walk two to three hours; and just over 13% walk more than three hours per week. Overall, about 8% of participants achieved the recommended level of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity.
Of the nearly 3,000 participants who walked at a slow pace each week, one-third said they were also doing moderate-intensity or vigorous-intensity physical activity, the researchers found.
The study will be presented on Sunday at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Barcelona. Results presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
“Walking is associated with a lower likelihood of death in older adults regardless of whether they engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity,” Jin said in a company press release. . He says it’s important to determine the minimum amount of exercise that can benefit older adults because recommended levels of activity can be difficult to achieve.
“The take-home message is to keep walking throughout life”, Jin. to Americans.
SOURCE: European Society of Cardiology, press release, August. 2 , 2022