Many seniors I observe shuffle along slowly. Other have an unsteady, side-to-side gait. Others can bound along at a pace people many years younger would envy. This energy and steady stride may be do to regular working out, good genetics, attention to posture, balance training, or just a positive mental attitude that keeps a "bounce in their step."
Now, there's a study that correlates a senior citizen's walking speed with logevity. Published in the most recent Journal of the American Medical Association, the University of Pittsburgh research paper collected data from nine studies between 1986 and 2000, involving nearly 35,000 adults, 65-and over.
The average walking speed was three feet a second. But the chances of surviving another five to 10 years increased the faster a person walked, particularly amongst those 75 and older.
The chances of surviving 10 years ranged from 19 to 87 percent among men, and 35 to 91 percent among women, depending on how fast they walked.
Walking may be a good prediction of survival because it requires energy and muscle control. It also works the heart and lungs, and the circulatory, nervous and skeletal systems.
Bottom line: get off the couch, get some fresh air, and start walking-at a rapid pace!
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