Watch grandpa’s gait for longevity clues

If you want to know how long grandpa is going to live, check his pace of walking. A report appearing in ‘Journal of the American Medical Association’ found a strong correlation between walking speed and expected survival rates for persons over 65.

The analysis from nine studies between 1986 and 2000 showed faster walking speed among older adults was associated with increased length of survival.

The average gait speed of the 34,485 participants was 0.92 meters (three feet) per second. But analyzing results over periods from six to 21 years, the University of Pittsburgh researchers found the faster ones lived longer.

Source:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=24311&Cat=6&dt=1/7/2011