Walking at a brisk pace could help to slow down the ageing process, resulting in a reduction in biological age of up to 16 years by midlife, according to a new study.
The study explored the genetic data of more than 400,000 UK adults and revealed a clear link between walking pace and a genetic marker of biological age.
Confirming a causal link between walking pace and leucocyte telomere length (LTL ) – an indicator of biological age – the researchers estimate that a lifetime of brisk walking could lead to the equivalent of 16 years younger biological age by midlife.
Researchers from the UK’s University of Leicester at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR ) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre studied genetic data from 405,981 middle-aged UK Biobank participants and found that a faster walking pace, independent of the amount of physical activity, was associated with longer telomere.
Telomeres are the ‘caps’ at the end of each chromosome, and hold repetitive sequences of non-coding DNA that protect the chromosome from damage, similar to the way the cap at the end of a shoelace stops it from unravelling.
Each time a cell divides, these telomeres become shorter – until they reach a point where they are so short that the cell can no longer divide, known as ‘replicative senescence’. Because of this, scientists consider LTL a strong marker for ‘biological age’, independent from when an individual was born.
Although the relationship between telomere length and disease is not fully understood, the build-up of these senescent cells is believed to contribute to a range of symptoms we associate with ageing, such as frailty and age-related diseases.
“This research uses genetic data to provide stronger evidence for a causal link between faster walking pace and longer telomere length,” said Dr Paddy Dempsey, lead author on the study. “Data from wrist-worn wearable activity tracking devices used to measure habitual physical activity also supported a stronger role of habitual activity intensity [eg faster walking] in relation to telomere length.
“This suggests measures such as a habitually slower walking speed are a simple way of identifying people at greater risk of chronic disease or unhealthy ageing, and that activity intensity may play an important role in optimising interventions.”
Researchers from the University of Leicester have previously shown that as little as 10 minutes of brisk walking a day is associated with longer life expectancy, and that brisk walkers have up to 20 years’ greater life expectancy compared to slow walkers.
This new study demonstrates a causal link between brisk walking and telomere length and, significantly, not the other way round. This means a faster walking pace is likely to lead to a younger biological age as measured by telomeres, rather than longer telomeres leading to a faster pace.
The research is another good reason to get out for a brisk walk daily - aim to walk at least 1.5 miles (2.4km ) in 30 minutes for maximum benefit.
