This post is the second installment of the four tests described in The New York Times article, “Are You Aging Well? Try These Simple Tests to Find Out.” Here’s the second test:
Walking speed assessment.
To take the test, measure about 13 feet on a straight flat
surface. Walk that distance at your normal speed, not as fast as you can. The
article says that “people of all ages should aim for a gait of at least 1.2
meters per second, a little over three seconds total.”
I tried walking that distance at what I think might be my normal pace. (It’s hard trying not to rush to
get a good score.) Using my Apple watch stopwatch function, my score was between
4 and 5 seconds.
Jennifer Brach, a professor of health and rehabilitation
sciences at the University of Pittsburgh says that your walking speed is “predictive
of future decline, it’s predictive of mortality, nursing home placement,
disability, a whole host of different things.” She says you should retest
yourself every few months to see if you’re slowing down—a warning sign of
possible problems with your cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, vestibular
(balance), or sensory nervous systems.
Maybe I should up my normal walking speed—once I figure out
what it is.
For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.
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