Walking Your Way to Diabetes Prevention: Put Some Pep in Your Step!

Walking Faster Reduces Your Risk for Diabetes

How Fast You Walk Can Impact Your Diabetes Risk

We all know that walking is good for our health, but did you know that the speed at which you walk can actually affect your risk of developing type 2 diabetes? Well, it’s true! A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has found that those who walk at a brisk pace have a significantly lower risk of diabetes compared to slow walkers.

So, how fast should you be moving those legs? According to the study, walking at least 2.5 miles per hour is the magic number. That’s equivalent to a vigorous 87 steps per minute for men and 100 steps per minute for women. And here’s the icing on the cake – for every half-mile per hour you add to your walking speed, you can enjoy an additional 9% reduction in your risk of diabetes. Talk about speed demon!

Now, you may be asking why walking faster makes such a difference. Well, it all comes down to muscle strength and cardio fitness. People who can maintain a brisk pace while walking tend to have better overall health, stronger muscles, and improved cardiovascular fitness – all factors that are linked to lower diabetes risk. Plus, let’s not forget the added benefit of weight loss. Brisk walking is not only great for shedding those extra pounds but also for improving insulin response. Every pound you drop brings you one step closer to diabetes prevention.

To arrive at these findings, the researchers conducted a comprehensive review of long-term studies on diabetes risk and walking. This analysis included data from over half a million individuals from the United States, the U.K., and Japan, spanning from 1999 to 2022. The results were crystal clear: walking at a moderate pace of 2 to 3 miles per hour reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 15% compared to walking slower than 2 mph. And if you can pick up the pace even further, maintaining a speed of 3 to 4 mph, you’ll enjoy a whopping 24% lower risk of diabetes.

But wait, there’s more! If you dare to walk faster than 4 mph, you can slash your diabetes risk by an impressive 39%. That’s right – just by picking up the speed, you could potentially prevent two cases of type 2 diabetes for every 100 people.

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So, the question is, are you ready to lace up your walking shoes and put some pep in your step? Remember, it’s not just about the duration of your walk but also about the intensity. By increasing your walking speed, you’ll be supercharging your diabetes prevention efforts. As the researchers in the study noted, “While current strategies to increase total walking time are beneficial, it may also be reasonable to encourage people to walk at faster speeds, to further increase the health benefits of walking.”

And there you have it! Walking your way to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes has never been easier – just walk like you’re in a hurry to catch the last train of the day. So, let’s step up the pace and together stride towards a healthier, diabetes-free future!

More information If you want to learn more about the amazing benefits of walking, check out the American Diabetes Association.

SOURCES BMJ, news release, Nov. 28, 2023

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