Good for activating the muscles, the heart and breathing, active walking has never been so aptly named as a “health walk”.
A team of British researchers from the University of Leicester has shown that the pace of walking can influence the state of health of our cells.
Their work, published on Wednesday April 20 in the medical journal
Communications Biology
, reports that from 6 km/h the practice slows down our cellular aging, to the point of rejuvenating our biological age.
Thus, according to their findings, a 56-year-old regular walker would have an average biological age of 40, or 16 years younger.
Read alsoIs walking in the city as beneficial as walking in nature?
An impact on our protective “hoods”
To arrive at this result, the scientists analyzed the genetic data of 405,981 Britons, taken from the UK Biobank, a biomedical database.
In particular, they compared the state of their chromosomes, more particularly their telomeres, with their walking habits.
To understand better, telomeres are protective “caps” located at the end of chromosomes.
As we age, these shorten, like a burning candle, and gradually contribute to the development of age-related diseases.
Their length is therefore a determining indicator of biological age.
As a result of this analysis, it was found that people who walk faster, on average, have longer telomeres than individuals whose stepping pace is slower.
"The intensity with which the usual fitness walking movement is performed can be important for health, regardless of the total amount performed," says Paddy Dempsey, a researcher specializing in the field of physical activity and lead author of the study.
In video, 6 tips to make walking as effective as jogging
10 minutes per day minimum
The team of British researchers is not surprised, they had already found beneficial effects on longevity
.
In a study published in 2019, their conclusions report that a brisk walk of at least ten minutes a day increases life expectancy.
According to scientists, fast walkers can expect to live 20 years longer than slow walkers.
It's never too late to start.