Walking briskly can make you live longer.
Walking quickly can make a person live longer
A study of more than 405,000 adults has discovered a clear link between walking faster and a reduced biological age, which tells us the real age of our cells.
Experts found that participants who walked at a brisk pace of 4mph had longer telomeres - the 'caps' at the end of chromosomes that protect them from damage. The research suggests that a person could feel 16 years younger with regular quick walks.
Scientists see the length of the telomere as an indicator of biological age and have linked it with a range of symptoms associated with ageing.
The study, published in Communications Biology, does not indicate that walking faster helps people live longer, previous findings have suggested there is a link.
Lead author Dr. Paddy Dempsey, from the University of Leicester, encouraged adults to "aim to increase the number of steps completed in a given time, for example by walking faster to the bus stop".