"Old man, walk faster, slowly." "You have to rush to walk, you have to rush your life." Uncle Zhang and Aunt Liu are a husband and wife, both 59 years old, although they are about to turn 60 years old, but they are still relatively healthy. The couple often goes out for walks and moves to achieve the purpose of strengthening their bodies.
This morning, before the sun came out, they went for a walk in the nearby square, and Aunt Liu saw that Uncle Zhang was walking very slowly, so she said the previous sentence. In the past, Aunt Liu never paid attention to the speed of walking, as long as she came out to walk around, it was good, after all, Uncle Zhang used to be very lazy, so it was not easy to go out for a walk, and she couldn't ask too much.
And now Aunt Liu is so concerned about the speed of walking, because a few days ago I heard others say that compared with people who walk slowly, people who walk fast live longer, and the life difference between the two can be 15 years.
"Old man, walk faster, you can live longer." Uncle Zhang naturally didn't believe it, "Who said it, walking speed is also related to life expectancy, so wouldn't those who practice race walking be able to live a long life." Uncle Zhang also cited several examples in life, and Aunt Liu also took out her mobile phone to show him, and the couple argued while walking, each with their own opinions, and they didn't fight for a reason when they got home.
Who lives longer for fast and slow walkers? In this article, let's dig deeper. What are the benefits of walking fast, and how can we maximize the benefits of walking?
One: Who lives longer for people who walk fast or walk slowly?
Walking is considered to be the most gentle form of exercise, which can play a role in exercising the body, improving the body's immunity and other effects, many people pay more attention to the number of steps, thinking that walking more is better for the body. But in fact, in terms of promoting physical health, we should pay more attention to the pace of walking.
People who walk fast should live longer, the American "Mayo Clinic Journal" conducted a study on the relationship between walking fast and slow and life expectancy a few years ago, this study involved a population of 475,000 people, and the time was as long as 7 years, the results showed that no matter how much weight they weighed, people who walked fast should live longer, and there are specific data that the life span of the two can be 15 years apart.
In addition to this, there are specific diseases in which people who walk fast are at lower risk than those who walk slowly. For example, the risk of heart failure is a study at the University of Tokyo in Japan, which found that the risk of heart failure will be significantly reduced when middle-aged and elderly people walk faster. This is because walking fast can speed up blood circulation, increase the blood supply to the heart, enhance heart function, and reduce the natural risk of disease.
People who walk fast also have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, and a study by the University of Sydney and the University of Southern Denmark showed that increasing the speed of walking to 112 steps per minute can effectively reduce Alzheimer's disease by 62%. People who walk fast have more stable blood pressure and a lower risk of developing high blood pressure, which has also been confirmed by Jinan University in mainland China, especially in the middle-aged and elderly population who are overweight and obese.
People who walk fast can effectively protect the brain and prevent stroke diseases such as cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage. A study conducted by the University of Münster in Germany on multiple volunteers showed that people who walked faster within 2 minutes of a given time had a more stable brain structure, better structural integrity, and stronger cognitive aspects such as memory.
People who walk fast can also control blood sugar stability and reduce the risk of diabetes. Compared to people who walk slowly, people who walk fast are more likely to deplete blood sugar levels in their bodies, and insulin utilization is improved, thus lowering blood sugar more effectively.
Studies published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine have shown that faster gait is associated with a lower risk of diabetes, such as a 15% lower risk of diabetes at a normal pace and a lower risk of diabetes when walking very fast.39 THE STUDY ALSO FOUND THAT A 1KM/H INCREASE IN GAIT SPEED WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A 9% REDUCTION IN THE RISK OF DIABETES.
There are many benefits to walking fast, but it doesn't mean that the faster the better, and the pace is also a degree, so you can't go wild. Walking violently will bring several injuries to the body, such as damage to bones, joints, and muscles, and the impact on these parts too fast when walking is also relatively large, at first it is only pain, and then it develops into osteoarthritis, which affects the muscles and ligaments and tympanic membrane in severe cases, and there may be walking disorders.
It's not okay to walk too slowly, it's not okay to walk too fast, so how fast is it appropriate to walk, and then look down.
Two: How fast is it appropriate to walk?
According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine, walking 100 steps per minute, or 60% of the maximum value from the heart rate, is considered to be fast, and this is the most appropriate walking pace. You can also measure the appropriate pace by your own comfort level.
For example, when you walk, you can sing loudly or talk to your peers, which means that your pace is too slow. If you are out of breath and exhausted, it is difficult to say a complete sentence, which means that the pace is too fast and your physical strength cannot keep up. When you are a little short of breath, but you can still chat comfortably with your companions, and you have some fatigue, but you can still persevere, it means that the pace is appropriate and you have reached the stage of brisk walking.
Of course, some middle-aged and elderly people due to age, or the weakening of cardiopulmonary function, walking is very slow, and they can't get up quickly for a while. For example, walk a few times in a short distance, let the lower limb muscles slowly adapt, the body can sweat slightly, and after a cycle, you can increase the distance step by step, and increase the stride length appropriately to improve the pace.
If we want to maximize the benefits of walking, we need to pay attention not only to gait, but also to these aspects.
Three: How to get the most out of walking?
While many people benefit from movement, the health effects of daily basic activities are also unstable. In terms of the number of steps walked, we also need to have a certain value, the European Journal of Preventive Heart Disease published a study, the study showed that at least 3967 steps a day to reduce the risk of all-cause mortality, the study also showed that the more you walk, the greater the benefits to your health. Therefore, if many people only walk hundreds or thousands of steps, it will not bring many benefits. Of course, everyone's physical condition is different, and when walking and exercising, you should walk according to your own conditions and do what you can.
The intensity of exercise when walking also needs attention, many people think that the intensity is the number of steps or pace, in fact, it is not, observe whether the exercise intensity is appropriate, the standard is to look at the heart rate, the general healthy people should control the heart rate at 120-180 times / minute when exercising, middle-aged and elderly people or people with chronic diseases should control the heart rate at (170-age) - (180-age) times / minute.
We usually think that walking is a very normal basic activity, and the correct and wrong posture is not so important, but in fact, the wrong posture will bring a lot of harm to the body. Many people always walk with their heads down and their chests and their feet when walking, which is easy to fatigue and not conducive to breathing. The correct posture should be to keep your head up and chest up, your chin parallel to the ground, your eyes looking ahead, and observing the obstacles around you, so that you can avoid danger in time and prevent falls.
Some people do not swing their arms when walking, which is easy to affect the body's sense of balance and increase the risk of falling, and some swing arms are too large, which can easily lead to muscle soreness and even strain in the upper arms, and will also reduce the walking speed.
The correct posture should be the upper arm naturally drooping, and the arms swing naturally with the pace when walking, and the general swing arm amplitude is about 30-45 degrees. If you are walking briskly, you can make fists with your arms like a race walker, bend them to 90 degrees, and the number of swings increases with your pace.
Men usually walk the outer figure, like the outer figure eight and the inner figure walking posture is incorrect, so the force on the feet is uneven, causing pain, and it is not sightly. The correct posture is to walk upright, you can find a straight reference when walking, with the heels of both feet in line with the toes, and walk slowly at the beginning to avoid the wrong posture.
There are also some people who procrastinate when walking, and the soles of their feet are dragged on the ground or their toes hit the ground first, which not only damages the joints, muscles, arches and other parts, but also does not look beautiful. The correct walking posture is to start with the heels, then transition to the soles of the feet and toes.
Every healthy person can learn to walk, but in order to walk correctly and maximize the benefits of walking, it is necessary to learn more about the correct way and posture of walking.
It is not recommended to walk on an empty stomach in the morning, because the blood sugar in the fasting state is low, especially for diabetic people, whose blood sugar is unstable, and if you consume blood sugar after a period of exercise, it is more likely to have accidents such as hypoglycemia.
When walking, you should also prepare complete equipment, choose a pair of sneakers with soft soles to reduce the pressure on your feet when walking, and wear comfortable and breathable sportswear to make walking more comfortable during exercise. You can also bring a bottle of water or candy to rehydrate in time to prevent hypoglycemia.
Through the argument between Uncle Zhang and Aunt Liu, the question explored in this article is raised, who lives longer for people who walk fast or walk slowly? The answer is that people who walk fast live longer, with studies showing a difference of 15 years. After reading this article, we should speed up when walking in daily life, and give full play to the benefits of walking to the body, in addition to pace, the intensity, number of steps, posture, time, equipment and other aspects of walking should be paid attention to, and strive to maximize the benefits.
Bibliography:
Food and Health,2024,(04):34-35.
【2】Take a walk to be healthier[J].Fortune World,2021,(02):74.)