Walking speed and aging: why your pace predicts so much

Walking speed is one of the simplest signs of how well you're aging. Walking takes strength, balance, a working heart and lungs, and good coordination all at once, so when any of them slips, your pace usually slows.

In older adults, everyday walking speed predicts survival about as well as a list of medical conditions does.

Why walking speed predicts how you age

The landmark study pooled nine cohorts of adults aged 65 and older, with 17,528 deaths over the follow-up. Every 0.1 meters per second faster was linked to about a 12% lower risk of death. At age 75, predicted 10-year survival ranged from 19% to 87% in men, and from 35% to 91% in women, depending on how fast they walked.

Age, sex and walking speed together predicted survival as well as age and sex combined with chronic conditions, smoking, blood pressure, body mass index and hospital stays.

A UK Biobank study of 405,981 middle-aged adults found people who described themselves as brisk or average walkers had longer telomeres, the protective caps on chromosomes that shorten with age, than slow walkers. Its genetic analysis suggested walking pace may affect telomere length rather than the other way around. That's suggestive, not proof.

What's a normal walking speed for your age?

A meta-analysis of 41 studies and 23,111 people found average comfortable walking speed ranged from about 1.43 meters per second for men in their 40s down to about 0.94 meters per second for women aged 80 to 99.

In the survival study, older adults who walked faster than about 1 meter per second tended to live longer than expected for their age and sex, and about 0.8 meters per second was close to average.

These norms come from timed walks on a straight path. Short tests that start from standing, or include a turn, read slower. Everyday walking, with its stops, turns and crowds, tends to be slower again.

Compare the speed your iPhone measures with people your age and sex in the walking speed calculator.

How your iPhone measures walking speed

An iPhone carried in your pocket measures your speed on flat ground as you go about your day, and saves it to Apple Health as Walking Speed. It doesn't need an Apple Watch. Because it's your everyday pace rather than a test, compare it with everyday walking norms, not clinic tables, or it will look low.

It can read low if you mostly walk in short bursts indoors, or with a slow companion. Look at the average over a few weeks.

How to walk faster

Walk more, and pick up the pace on some walks. Brisk walking is aerobic exercise, and the fitter you are, the faster your easy pace becomes. See how many steps a day you need.

Strengthen your legs. Squats, step-ups and getting up from a chair without using your hands all build the muscles that push you forward.

Train your balance. People slow down when they feel unsteady. See balance and aging.

If your pace has dropped noticeably over a few months without a clear reason, mention it to your doctor.

How Ageon uses walking speed

Walking speed is one of the inputs to Ageon's mobility and balance domain, next to the 10-second one-leg balance test. Ageon reads the middle value of your recent days from Apple Health and compares it with everyday walking norms from a Japanese study that tracked 8,429 adults' daily walking with phone GPS, for your age and sex.