Want to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes? Try walking faster: Study claims picking up the pace to 3.7mph slashes odds by over a third

• Experts said it was something everyone could do as part of their daily lives
• READ MORE: Are YOU a dawdler? Why you’re more likely to die from cancer

Walking quickly not only gets you places faster, research suggests it might slash your chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

Picking up the pace to 3.7 miles per hour (6kph) can reduce the risk by 39 per cent, with every 0.6mph (1kph) cutting it by a further 9 per cent.

Experts said it was something everyone could do as part of their daily lives to halt the diabetes timebomb.

Picking up the pace to 3.7 miles per hour (6kph) can reduce the risk by 39 per cent, with every 0.6mph (1kph) cutting it by a further 9 per cent

An international team of researchers, including from Imperial College London, wanted to ascertain the optimal walking speed to stave off the disease.

They looked at ten studies published between 1999 and 2022, which included follow-up periods of between three and 11 years.

Some 508,121 adult patients were included in total, from across the UK, Japan and the US.

The team found walking at between1.8mph (3kph) and 3.1mph (5kph) reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 15 per cent when compared with walking at a pace of less than 3km an hour.

The risk reduced further with a faster pace, with a fairly brisk walk of between 3.1 (5kph) and 3.7 mph (6kph) is associated with a quarter (24 per cent) lower risk.

Those who walked at a speed of higher than 3.7mph (6kph) had a 39 per cent lower risk of developing the condition, according to the findings published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

This could be because people with a faster walking speed are more likely to be fitter, with greater muscle mass and better overall health.

Brisk walking is also good for weight loss which helps to improve insulin sensitivity, they said.

They conclude: ‘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.’

Rising obesity levels are blamed for soaring levels of diabetes in the UK, with estimates cases have now topped 5 million.

Approximately 90 per cent of diabetes cases are type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and is typically diagnosed in middle age, rather than type 1 diabetes, which is a genetic condition usually identified early in life.

Neil Gibson, of Diabetes UK, said: ‘Walking is cost-free, simple and for most people can be integrated into regular activities like getting to work, shopping and visiting friends.

‘While progressing to a faster pace is usually recommended for greater health gains, it’s important that people walk at a pace that they can manage and is suitable for them.’

HOW MUCH EXERCISE YOU NEED

To stay healthy, adults aged 19 to 64 should try to be active daily and should do:

• at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as cycling or brisk walking every week and

• strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

Or:

• 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity such as running or a game of singles tennis every week and

• strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

Or:

• a mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week – for example, 2 x 30-minute runs plus 30 minutes of brisk walking equates to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and

• strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

A good rule is that 1 minute of vigorous activity provides the same health benefits as 2 minutes of moderate activity.

One way to do your recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity is to do 30 minutes on 5 days every week.

All adults should also break up long periods of sitting with light activity.

Source: NHS 

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