Walking has the advantage of being possible for almost everyone, in all weather, even for those most allergic to sport, and the icing on the cake is that it doesn't cost a penny. Walking improves physical and mental health, breaks our sedentary lifestyle which, it has been proven, is happily eating away at our life expectancy. This new study looks at the most effective walking rhythms to adopt to reap the health benefits.
A brisk 15-minute walk…
Researchers have continually quantified the number of steps, the weekly frequency of walking, and the effects on various pathologies, including cardiac, cancerous, metabolic, and mental health. They have also looked at injunctions that emerged in the 1960s. Since then, there has been much questioning about the number of steps. Should we do 10,000 steps, 8,000 steps, 7,000 steps ?
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The study published on July 29, 2025 in the journal American Journal of Preventive Medicine is not interested in the number of steps. But in the intensity of the effort. What effects would regular brisk walking have on an individual's life expectancy and heart health? The publication concludes that brisk walking, or even climbing stairs, any daily aerobic exercise that involves our cardiovascular endurance, improves health.
By brisk walking, the authors mean walking that requires exertion, far from a leisurely stroll. Based on behaviors observed over several years in nearly 80,000 people, a large population sample, brisk walking, just 15 minutes per day, is associated with a reduction of nearly 20% in total mortality (all causes of mortality combined). Slow walking also brings benefits, but more limited: a daily walk of more than three hours of slow walking only results in a smaller reduction in mortality.
Aerobic exercise to improve cardiovascular health
What happens during brisk walking? In the study, the researchers recall the mechanisms triggered by this aerobic exercise. Brisk walking improves cardiac output, increases oxygen delivery to the muscles and improves the efficiency of the heart's pumping action. Regular practice of this brisk walking helps reduce risk factors leading to the onset of cardiovascular diseases by regulating weight, reducing the prevalence of obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia. Overall cardiovascular health is improved.
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Finally, brisk walking is an accessible, low-impact activity that people of all ages and fitness levels can do to improve their cardiovascular health.
The other lesson of the study is socially oriented
The benefits of walking have, according to the study's authors, been studied so far on segments of the population belonging to the middle or upper classes. The study has the additional particularity of focusing on disadvantaged populations (underserved) by the American healthcare system.
They built their statistical analysis from data collected over twenty years from a large prospective cohort, the Southern Community Cohort StudyThis study is made up of individuals residing in 12 American states, from ethnic minorities with very low incomes. This data was collected from 2002. These are therefore populations experiencing significant inequalities in terms of life expectancy due to degraded living conditions listed by the researchers: degraded housing conditions, polluted environments, unsafe for walking, poorer quality food, risky behaviors observed in terms of tobacco and alcohol consumption, and finally limited access to health coverage or care.
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The findings of mortality reductions linked to the practice of this vigorous walking are all the more promising in this social context. The conclusions are valid for the whole of society, insists the press release accompanying the study. The lead author summarizes the essential lesson to be learned in the end: " Individuals should strive to incorporate more intense physical activity into their routine, such as brisk walking or other forms of aerobic exercise.
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