Want to Live Longer? Here's the Ideal Walking Speed You Should Aim For

Taking regular walks may add years to your life. Studies have shown that walking improves muscular function and lowers the risk oftype 2 diabetes,cancer, andcardiovascular disease.

You don’t even have to go especially fast to get these health benefits. Walking at a speed of 3 miles per hour (mph)—the average walking speed for most adults—can help boost yourlongevity.

Setting the treadmill to 3 mph and walking for 111 minutes won’t magically add that extra decade to your life. But, finding ways to make walking—or othermoderate-intensity exercises—part of your regular routine can help improve your lifelong health.

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Think of 3 mph as a Helpful Target for Your Walking Speed

Current physical activity guidelines recommend adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity andstrength traintwo or more days each week.

“Walkingis one of the best ways that we have to maintain our physical activity and health,” saidThomas Buford, PhD, a professor of medicine and the director of the Center for Exercise Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

However, a 2022 report from the National Center for Health Statistics found that fewer than one in four adults met the exercise recommendations.There are a lot of reasons why: It can feel overwhelming, painful, expensive, and time-consuming.

Brisk walking counts as moderate-intensity, so lacing up your shoes and taking a stroll can help you meet your fitness goals. Plus, you don’t need special equipment or new skills.

“Three miles an hour, on average, is a nice target for people,” Buford said.

However, it’s all up to individual health and fitness. Don’t rush to reach that pace if you’re not physically ready, also don’t limit yourself to 3 mph if you can safely walk at 4 mph, he added.

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Walking Speed Is a Vital Sign for Older Adults

Walking speed, orgait speed, can also help healthcare providers diagnose certain medical conditions. Using gait speed this way is different than thinking about tracking walking speed to improve physical fitness. But, measuring walking speed is an inexpensive way for healthcare providers to monitor someone’s mobility, cognitive health risks, and how well they are aging.

When used this way, walking speed is sometimes called the “sixth vital sign.”Like body temperature andblood pressure, walking speed provides insights into a person’s overall well-being.

Studies have linked slow gait speed with accelerated aging, dementia risk, and poor outcomes during certain surgeries.

Slow gait speed can also predict fall risk. Providers can time someone while they walk four meters. People with a gait speed of less than 1 meter per second—or about 2.2 mph—have an increased risk of falling.

Why? People who shuffle when they walk or have trouble standing up from a chair might not have “the nervous system capacity to coordinate walking or the muscle capacity to walk quickly,” Ekkekakis said.

6 Best Ways to Incorporate an Indoor Walking Workout to Your Routine

Find a Walking Routine You Enjoy

If you want to increase your walking speed for overall fitness, talk with a trusted healthcare provider about how to safely increase your pace.

Remember, walking is just one way to boost physical activity and health. If you don’t enjoy it, you can try other moderate-intensity activities like water aerobics or dancing.

“I tend to always encourage people to do something that they are going to enjoy and stick with," Buford said. You’re more likely to push yourself to do that activity more days per week, for a longer duration, or faster, he added. “Increase that over time compared to yourself, less so compared to others.”

Here’s How to Create the Ultimate Beginner Walking Workout Plan

What This Means For YouWalking at 3 mph is a good target to improve your overall fitness and lifelong health. A slow walking speed may also indicate other health issues. Talk with your doctor about the best way to start a walking routine.

What This Means For You

Walking at 3 mph is a good target to improve your overall fitness and lifelong health. A slow walking speed may also indicate other health issues. Talk with your doctor about the best way to start a walking routine.

14 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ungvari Z, Fazekas-Pongor V, Csiszar A, Kunutsor SK.The multifaceted benefits of walking for healthy aging: from Blue Zones to molecular mechanisms.GeroScience. 2023;45(6):3211-3239. doi:10.1007/s11357-023-00873-8Alves F, Cruz S, Ribeiro A, Bastos Silva A, Martins J, Cunha I.Walkability index for elderly health: a proposal.Sustainability. 2020;12(18):7360. doi:10.3390/su12187360Veerman L, Tarp J, Wijaya R, et al.Physical activity and life expectancy: a life-table analysis.Br J Sports Med. Published online November 14, 2024. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2024-108125Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult activity: an overview.Elgaddal N, Kramarow EA, Reuben C.Physical activity among adults aged 18 and over: United States, 2020.NCHS Data Brief, no 443. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2022. doi:10.15620/cdc:120213Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Help a loved one get more active: quick tips.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Overcoming barriers to physical activity.Middleton A, Fritz SL, Lusardi M.Walking speed: the functional vital sign.J Aging Phys Act. 2015;23(2):314-322. doi:10.1123/japa.2013-0236University of Rochester Medical Center.Vital signs (body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, blood pressure).Collyer TA, Murray AM, Woods RL, et al.Association of dual decline in cognition and gait speed with risk of dementia in older adults.JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(5):e2214647. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.14647Rasmussen LJH, Caspi A, Ambler A, et al.Association of neurocognitive and physical function with gait speed in midlife.JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(10):e1913123. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.13123Chang J, Nathalie J, Nguyenhuy M, Xu R, Virk SA, Saxena A.Slow gait speed is associated with worse postoperative outcomes in cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta‐analysis.J Card Surg. 2022;37(1):197-204. doi:10.1111/jocs.16089Kyrdalen IL, Thingstad P, Sandvik L, Ormstad H.Associations between gait speed and well-known fall risk factors among community-dwelling older adults.Physiother Res Int. 2019;24(1):e1743. doi:10.1002/pri.1743American Heart Association.American Heart Association recommendations for physical activity in adults and kids.

14 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ungvari Z, Fazekas-Pongor V, Csiszar A, Kunutsor SK.The multifaceted benefits of walking for healthy aging: from Blue Zones to molecular mechanisms.GeroScience. 2023;45(6):3211-3239. doi:10.1007/s11357-023-00873-8Alves F, Cruz S, Ribeiro A, Bastos Silva A, Martins J, Cunha I.Walkability index for elderly health: a proposal.Sustainability. 2020;12(18):7360. doi:10.3390/su12187360Veerman L, Tarp J, Wijaya R, et al.Physical activity and life expectancy: a life-table analysis.Br J Sports Med. Published online November 14, 2024. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2024-108125Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult activity: an overview.Elgaddal N, Kramarow EA, Reuben C.Physical activity among adults aged 18 and over: United States, 2020.NCHS Data Brief, no 443. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2022. doi:10.15620/cdc:120213Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Help a loved one get more active: quick tips.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Overcoming barriers to physical activity.Middleton A, Fritz SL, Lusardi M.Walking speed: the functional vital sign.J Aging Phys Act. 2015;23(2):314-322. doi:10.1123/japa.2013-0236University of Rochester Medical Center.Vital signs (body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, blood pressure).Collyer TA, Murray AM, Woods RL, et al.Association of dual decline in cognition and gait speed with risk of dementia in older adults.JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(5):e2214647. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.14647Rasmussen LJH, Caspi A, Ambler A, et al.Association of neurocognitive and physical function with gait speed in midlife.JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(10):e1913123. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.13123Chang J, Nathalie J, Nguyenhuy M, Xu R, Virk SA, Saxena A.Slow gait speed is associated with worse postoperative outcomes in cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta‐analysis.J Card Surg. 2022;37(1):197-204. doi:10.1111/jocs.16089Kyrdalen IL, Thingstad P, Sandvik L, Ormstad H.Associations between gait speed and well-known fall risk factors among community-dwelling older adults.Physiother Res Int. 2019;24(1):e1743. doi:10.1002/pri.1743American Heart Association.American Heart Association recommendations for physical activity in adults and kids.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Ungvari Z, Fazekas-Pongor V, Csiszar A, Kunutsor SK.The multifaceted benefits of walking for healthy aging: from Blue Zones to molecular mechanisms.GeroScience. 2023;45(6):3211-3239. doi:10.1007/s11357-023-00873-8Alves F, Cruz S, Ribeiro A, Bastos Silva A, Martins J, Cunha I.Walkability index for elderly health: a proposal.Sustainability. 2020;12(18):7360. doi:10.3390/su12187360Veerman L, Tarp J, Wijaya R, et al.Physical activity and life expectancy: a life-table analysis.Br J Sports Med. Published online November 14, 2024. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2024-108125Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult activity: an overview.Elgaddal N, Kramarow EA, Reuben C.Physical activity among adults aged 18 and over: United States, 2020.NCHS Data Brief, no 443. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2022. doi:10.15620/cdc:120213Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Help a loved one get more active: quick tips.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Overcoming barriers to physical activity.Middleton A, Fritz SL, Lusardi M.Walking speed: the functional vital sign.J Aging Phys Act. 2015;23(2):314-322. doi:10.1123/japa.2013-0236University of Rochester Medical Center.Vital signs (body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, blood pressure).Collyer TA, Murray AM, Woods RL, et al.Association of dual decline in cognition and gait speed with risk of dementia in older adults.JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(5):e2214647. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.14647Rasmussen LJH, Caspi A, Ambler A, et al.Association of neurocognitive and physical function with gait speed in midlife.JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(10):e1913123. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.13123Chang J, Nathalie J, Nguyenhuy M, Xu R, Virk SA, Saxena A.Slow gait speed is associated with worse postoperative outcomes in cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta‐analysis.J Card Surg. 2022;37(1):197-204. doi:10.1111/jocs.16089Kyrdalen IL, Thingstad P, Sandvik L, Ormstad H.Associations between gait speed and well-known fall risk factors among community-dwelling older adults.Physiother Res Int. 2019;24(1):e1743. doi:10.1002/pri.1743American Heart Association.American Heart Association recommendations for physical activity in adults and kids.

Ungvari Z, Fazekas-Pongor V, Csiszar A, Kunutsor SK.The multifaceted benefits of walking for healthy aging: from Blue Zones to molecular mechanisms.GeroScience. 2023;45(6):3211-3239. doi:10.1007/s11357-023-00873-8

Alves F, Cruz S, Ribeiro A, Bastos Silva A, Martins J, Cunha I.Walkability index for elderly health: a proposal.Sustainability. 2020;12(18):7360. doi:10.3390/su12187360

Veerman L, Tarp J, Wijaya R, et al.Physical activity and life expectancy: a life-table analysis.Br J Sports Med. Published online November 14, 2024. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2024-108125

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult activity: an overview.

Elgaddal N, Kramarow EA, Reuben C.Physical activity among adults aged 18 and over: United States, 2020.NCHS Data Brief, no 443. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2022. doi:10.15620/cdc:120213

Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Help a loved one get more active: quick tips.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Overcoming barriers to physical activity.

Middleton A, Fritz SL, Lusardi M.Walking speed: the functional vital sign.J Aging Phys Act. 2015;23(2):314-322. doi:10.1123/japa.2013-0236

University of Rochester Medical Center.Vital signs (body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, blood pressure).

Collyer TA, Murray AM, Woods RL, et al.Association of dual decline in cognition and gait speed with risk of dementia in older adults.JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(5):e2214647. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.14647

Rasmussen LJH, Caspi A, Ambler A, et al.Association of neurocognitive and physical function with gait speed in midlife.JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(10):e1913123. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.13123

Chang J, Nathalie J, Nguyenhuy M, Xu R, Virk SA, Saxena A.Slow gait speed is associated with worse postoperative outcomes in cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta‐analysis.J Card Surg. 2022;37(1):197-204. doi:10.1111/jocs.16089

Kyrdalen IL, Thingstad P, Sandvik L, Ormstad H.Associations between gait speed and well-known fall risk factors among community-dwelling older adults.Physiother Res Int. 2019;24(1):e1743. doi:10.1002/pri.1743

American Heart Association.American Heart Association recommendations for physical activity in adults and kids.

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