How fast you walk could predict how long you will live

Forget blood tests and complex medical scans. The way you walk could predict how long you will live. Yes, that’s right. A new study from the University of Leicester found that a person’s walking pace could be one of the most powerful predictors of mortality risk. The findings are published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Your walking speed could reveal your future health

A groundbreaking study involving over 400,000 UK adults has uncovered a striking connection: how quickly you walk may be one of the most reliable indicators of your lifespan.

The research challenges conventional medical wisdom by suggesting that straightforward physical measures could outperform traditional clinical tests in predicting who faces the highest mortality risk. The findings are especially relevant for people already living with long-term health conditions.

The researchers analysed data from 407,569 UK Biobank participants to understand whether five basic physical measures could enhance or even replace traditional clinical risk predictors, such as blood pressure and cholesterol, when estimating the likelihood of premature death. The five physical measures were walking pace, handgrip strength, resting heart rate, sleep duration, and leisure-time physical activity.

“Risk prediction models are widely used within clinical practice, public health, and the insurance sector. From a clinical perspective, risk scores help clinicians make better personalised decisions, and in public health, risk scores help identify sections of the population that could benefit from preventive interventions,” Yuhe Wang, who is currently working towards a PhD at the University of Leicester, said in a release.

Wang added, “Life insurance companies also use prediction models to classify individuals according to their risk of death. Traditionally, their risk prediction models include demographic factors such as sex, age, and previous history of chronic disease.”

Why walking matters more than we thought

The way you walk can tell a lot about your health, and scientists are finally confirming it. “Of the physical measures studied, our analysis found that walking pace was the strongest single predictor of death. In people with existing health conditions, replacing blood pressure and cholesterol measurements with self-reported walking pace improved the model’s ability to predict mortality, meaning people were reclassified into a more appropriate risk category. When all five physical measures were combined, mortality prediction improved even further in groups with pre-existing health conditions,” Professor of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Health at the University of Leicester, Tom Yates, said.

For healthcare systems stretched thin by cost and capacity constraints, the message is clear. “These findings suggest that incorporating straightforward physical behaviour and fitness measures can offer a quick and cost-effective way to identify people at higher risk of death, which could support more targeted preventive healthcare,” Yates added.

Richard Russell, Vice President, Biometric Research at RGA, emphasised how walking, in itself, is crucial for health. “This research demonstrates that simple, accessible measures like walking pace and resting heart rate can help insurers better assess risk while also empowering consumers to adopt behaviours that support longer, healthier lives.”

Professor Marian Knight, Scientific Director for NIHR Infrastructure, added, “By showing that a measure as simple as walking pace can be a powerful predictor of health outcomes, this work highlights how we can use accessible data to improve risk assessment and help people live longer, healthier lives.”

The research opens a new door in analysing longevity.