HQ Team
August 4, 2025: A 15-minute fast walk helped reduce mortality by 20%, mostly in low-income Black individuals in the US, a study finds.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and led by researchers at Vanderbilt University, gathered data from 85,000 people from the Southern Community Cohort Study across 12 southeastern US states.
Participants provided information on daily walking pace and time, demographics, lifestyle factors, and health status. Mortality data were collected until December 31, 2022, and an analysis was conducted from September 2023 to June 2024.
“Significant associations were found between all-cause mortality and daily fast walking time,” the authors wrote in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
“Fast walking as little as 15 minutes a day was associated with a nearly 20% reduction in total mortality, while only a 4% reduction in mortality was found in association with more than three hours of daily slow walking.” The association was not “statistically significant.”
Aerobic exercise
“Fast walking was independently associated with reduced mortality, regardless of the levels of leisure time physical activity, and engaging in just 15 minutes of fast walking per day resulted in a substantial reduction in the risk of death.
Fast walking is a form of aerobic exercise that improves cardiac output, increases oxygen delivery to the muscles, and enhances the efficiency of the heart’s pumping action.
These physiological adaptations contribute to reduced cardiovascular disease mortality by improving the overall health of the heart.
Fast walking has a positive impact on various cardiovascular risk factors. Regular participation in fast walking helps control body weight and body composition, reducing the prevalence of obesity and its associated cardiovascular risks, such as hypertension and dyslipidemia.
It also offers a convenient, accessible, and low-impact activity that individuals of all ages and fitness levels can use.
Cigarettes, alcohol
The study participants, who were aged between 40 and 79, were enrolled from 2002 to 2009. During the baseline survey, participants reported the average amount of time per day (minutes) they typically spend ‘walking slowly,’ such as moving around, walking at work, walking the dog, or engaging in light exercise.
They also provided data on ‘walking fast,’ such as climbing stairs, brisk walking, or exercising.
Participants were classified into four groups: no walking, greater than zero to 30 minutes, greater than 30 minutes to 60 minutes, and greater than 60 minutes. Five behavioural factors with mortality were measured at baseline: cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, leisure time physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and diet quality.
“Fast walking was independently associated with reduced mortality, regardless of the leisure-time physical activity levels. The inverse association was more pronounced for mortality due to cardiovascular diseases than cancers,” the researchers wrote.
“Participants with baseline comorbidities had larger risk reductions compared to their generally healthy counterparts, although all individuals benefited from fast walking.”
Safe walking spaces
More than half of the study participants reported an annual income of less than $15,000 at enrollment, with about two-thirds of the cohort consisting of Black participants.
Existing literature on walking and other leisure-time physical activity, which includes swimming, meditation, reading, playing games and dancing, primarily focuses on middle-to-high-income white populations, lacking representation of low-income, particularly low-income Black, individuals.
Walking behaviours may differ significantly between individuals from low-income and higher-income backgrounds.
Low-income populations often face economic constraints and are more likely to reside in impoverished, highly polluted communities with limited access to safe walking spaces.
These populations tend to have a higher prevalence of lifestyle behaviours that may increase disease risk and mortality, such as a lower quality diet, cigarette smoking, and heavy alcohol consumption. At the same time, other challenges for individuals with low income, such as a lack of access to health insurance or health care, may also increase mortality, according to the researchers.
These factors collectively contribute to an increased mortality among low-income individuals and may potentially elucidate the racial disparities observed in longevity, they wrote.
“Public health interventions may prioritise addressing barriers to daily walking, such as inadequate infrastructure, safety concerns, and limited access to recreational spaces, to facilitate increased walking participation among all populations,” the authors wrote.
