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yesterday

Brisk 15-Minute Walks Slash Mortality Risk by Nearly 20%, Study Finds

Data from nearly 80,000 low-income Black adults underscore walking pace as a key factor in lowering death rates.

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Interval walking — alternating faster and slower 3-minute segments — can bring strength and cardiovascular gains, researchers say. (Robert Kneschke / Adobe Stock)
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Overview

  • A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine tracked 79,856 low-income and Black adults for a median of 16.7 years and linked 15 minutes of daily brisk walking to a nearly 20% reduction in all-cause mortality.
  • The mortality reduction was most pronounced for cardiovascular causes and held true after adjusting for diet, smoking, alcohol use and other leisure-time activities.
  • Slow walking for more than three hours a day achieved only a modest 4% reduction in mortality, highlighting the importance of walking intensity over total duration.
  • Recent meta-analyses indicate that health gains plateau beyond roughly 7,000 daily steps, prompting a shift toward pace-based guidelines and interval walking methods.
  • Japanese walking, which alternates three-minute fast and slow walking bouts, can help users efficiently meet the 150-minute weekly exercise recommendation while improving blood pressure, muscle strength and aerobic capacity.