Association Between Gait Speed With Mortality, Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Researchers combined results from many studies that measured how quickly people walked, usually over a short distance. The studies mainly included older adults and followed them over time for deaths, heart disease, and cancer. For every 0.1 meter-per-second increase in walking speed, the risk of death was about 12% lower, the risk of heart disease about 8% lower, and the risk of cancer about 6% lower. These studies were observational, meaning they looked for patterns and could not prove that walking faster caused better health.

What this means for you: Walking speed can be a useful, simple sign of overall health, but it is not a magic treatment or a reason to buy a special product. Staying active may help, but this study cannot show that deliberately walking faster will prevent disease.