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In the quest to understand the nuanced relationship between walking pace and health, a recent systematic review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has unveiled compelling evidence suggesting that brisk walking might significantly lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in adults.
Researchers from the Research Center at Semnan University of Medical Sciences in Iran conducted a comprehensive review encompassing 10 prospective cohort studies conducted across the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The meta-analysis involved 18,410 adults and examined the association between different walking speeds and the risk of T2D development.
The study highlighted that individuals engaged in fairly brisk walking exhibited a 24% reduced risk of developing T2D compared to those with a more leisurely or casual walking pace. Furthermore, participants walking at an average or normal pace demonstrated a 15% lower risk of T2D compared to individuals with a slower walking pace. Interestingly, the research revealed that the risk for T2D significantly declined at a walking speed of 4 km/h and above.
The analysis considered various walking speeds, categorizing them as easy/casual, average/normal, fairly brisk, and very brisk/striding. Notably, the findings suggested that the benefits associated with brisk walking persisted irrespective of the total volume of physical activity or the duration spent walking per day.
While acknowledging the strength of cohort studies in establishing temporal relationships between exposure and outcomes, the research also highlighted certain limitations. Biases related to inadequate adjustments for confounding factors and methodologies used for assessing walking speed and diagnosing T2D were identified as potential limitations. Despite these shortcomings, the study emphasized the stability of the significant inverse associations observed, even among studies with follow-up durations exceeding 10 years.
The researchers concluded that brisk walking, independently associated with a lower risk of developing T2D, could be an influential factor in diabetes prevention strategies. Encouraging individuals to adopt faster walking speeds, in addition to increasing overall walking time, might offer additional health benefits associated with reduced T2D risk.
This comprehensive analysis adds weight to the growing body of evidence supporting the multifaceted advantages of maintaining a brisk walking pace and highlights its potential role in mitigating the risk of type 2 diabetes in adults.
