Scientists say a lifetime of brisk walking can make you feel 16 years younger by the time you reach middle age.
Studying the genes of 400,000 Britons, University of Leicester researchers found a clear link between walking faster and a reduced biological age.
The fastest participants, defined as those who ran faster than 4 mph, had longer telomeres, the “heads” at the end of each chromosome.
They contain repetitive DNA sequences that protect the chromosome from damage, similar to how the cap on the end of a lace prevents fraying.
Each time a cell divides, these telomeres become so short that the cell can no longer divide.
Scientists view telomere length as an indicator of biological age, regardless of when a person was born, and is linked to a range of symptoms we associate with aging, such as frailty.
Based on the findings, the researchers estimate that a brisk walk can reduce a person’s biological age by as much as 16 in middle age.
Studying the genes of 400,000 Britons, University of Leicester researchers found a clear link between walking faster and a reduced biological age. The fastest participants, defined as those who ran faster than 4 mph, had longer telomeres, the “heads” at the end of each chromosome.
Professor Tom Yates, a physical activity expert and senior author of the study, said previous research has shown that walking speed is a “very strong predictor” of health status.
The new findings confirm that adopting a brisk walking pace “actually promotes better health” and “likely leads to a younger biological age.”
The benefits of walking have been documented in dozens of studies.
Experts believe that walking faster is a sign of improved musculoskeletal health, cardiovascular and lung fitness, activity levels, motivation and mental health.
But it’s unclear whether walking speed is related to biological age, how old your body looks based on how your chromosomes change over time, the University of Leicester team said.
They studied 405,981 Britons, with an average age of 57 years, included in the British biobank, a database of patients followed for 10 years containing genomic data.
About half of the participants (212,303) reported an average walking speed rated at three to four miles per hour.
One in 15 people (26,835) reported walking at a slow pace (less than five miles per hour), while four out of ten people (166,843) reported walking at a fast pace (more than four miles per hour).
They also collected additional data from nearly 100,000 participants who wore an activity monitor 24 hours a day for a week.
The results, published in the journal Communication Biology, show that those who walk faster have longer telomeres no matter how much exercise they get.
Scientists do not fully understand the link between telomere length and disease.
But the accumulation of these cells is believed to contribute to frailty and age-related diseases such as coronary heart disease and cancer.
That’s why scientists view telomere length, scientifically known as leukocyte telomere length (LTL), as a “strong predictor” of biological age, regardless of when a person is born.
The difference in LTL between fast and slow walkers was “equivalent to a 16-year age difference,” the team said.
Dr. Paddy Dempsey, a human physiologist and lead author of the study, said the findings show that those who routinely walk slower are at greater risk for chronic disease or unhealthy aging.
He said that in addition to increasing overall walking to improve health, people should also aim to increase the number of steps they can complete at any given time.
Dr Yates said: “While we have previously shown that walking speed is a very strong indicator of health, we have not been able to confirm that adopting a fast pace actually leads to better health. .
“In this study, we used information from people’s genetic profiles to show that a faster speed, as measured by telomeres, is likely to result in a younger biological age.”
A team from the university had previously used data from the UK biobank to show that just 10 minutes of brisk walking a day is linked to a longer life expectancy.
They also found that fast walkers had a life expectancy of up to 20 years longer than slow walkers.
Source: Daily Mail
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