I'm A Longevity Professor – These 3 Walking Rules May Lengthen Your Life

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how the timing of everything from eating breakfast to getting to sleep may affect your longevity. 

And while we’ve also covered the importance of strengthening exercise for preventing muscle loss (sarcopenia) over time, Dr Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, has shared the importance of lower-impact movement too. 

While Dr Longo acknowledges the importance of lifting weights and eating protein on his site, the professor also gave three walking rules his research has led him to believe will lengthen our lives. 

Which three walking rules might improve your longevity?

Dr Longo recommends we should:

1. Walk fast for an hour every day.
2. Take the stairs instead of escalators and elevators.
3. Walk everywhere at the weekend, even faraway places (and avoiding polluted areas as much as possible).

Duke University reiterates that taking the stairs is a fantastic option for most people seeking to improve their fitness because it requires no special equipment.

It may help to improve bone density among post-menopausal women, can lower your cholesterol, and helps to keep your joints healthy, experts add. 

And while you might be tempted to avoid a weekend stroll if you live in a city (based on Dr Longo’s pollution comment), it’s worth bearing in mind that a 2016 study found that even in cities 10 times more polluted than London, you’d need to cycle for five hours straight for the negative effects of air pollution to outweigh those of the exercise.

Still, pushing yourself too hard might not lead to a longer life

Dr Longo admitted in the same site entry that “most of the beneficial effects [of vigorous exercise] appear to be caused by the first 2.5 hours of exercise, making the additional exercise optional”.

This is in line with a twin study published this weekend, which found that “biological ageing was accelerated in those who exercised the least and the most”.

While high levels of activity were linked to better longevity odds in the short term, in the long term, this study found that a 7% mortality risk reduction was seen among sedentary and moderately active people. 

Pushing yourself harder than the NHS’ advised levels (150 minutes of moderate activity a week, or 75 minutes of intense movement) was not associated with increased longevity in this particular study.