Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Slow walking at 45 'a sign of faster ageing'

Gait speed in mid-life indicates how fast the brain and body are ageing, researchers found.

How fast people walk in their 40s is a sign of how much their brains, as well as their bodies, are ageing, scientists have suggested.

Using a simple test of gait speed, researchers were able to measure the ageing process.

Not only were slower walkers' bodies ageing more quickly - their faces looked older and they had smaller brains.

The international team said the findings were an "amazing surprise".

Doctors often measure gait speed to gauge overall health, particularly in the over-65s, because it is a good indicator of muscle strength, lung function, balance, spine strength and eyesight.

Slower walking speeds in old age have also been linked to a higher risk of dementia and decline.


'Problem sign'


In this study, of 1,000 people in New Zealand - born in the 1970s and followed to the age of 45 - the walking speed test was used much earlier, on adults in mid-life.

The study participants also had physical tests, brain function tests and brain scans, and during their childhood they had had cognitive tests every couple of years.

"This study found that a slow walk is a problem sign decades before old age," said Prof Terrie E Moffitt, lead author from King's College London and Duke University in the US.

Even at the age of 45, there was a wide variation in walking speeds with the fastest moving at 4m/s at top speed (without running).

In general, the slower walkers tended to show signs of "accelerated ageing" with their lungs, teeth and immune systems in worse shape than those who walked faster.

The more unexpected finding was that brain scans showed the slower walkers were more likely to have older-looking brains too.

And the researchers found they were able to predict the walking speed of 45-year-olds using the results of intelligence, language and motor skills tests from when they were three.

The children who grew up to be the slowest walkers (with a mean gait of 1.2m/s) had, on average, an IQ 12 points lower than those who were the fastest walkers (1.75m/s) 40 years later.


Lifestyle link


The international team of researchers, writing in JAMA Network Open, said the differences in health and IQ could be due to lifestyle choices or a reflection of some people having better health at the start of life.

But they suggest there are already signs in early life of who is going to fare better in health terms in later life.

The researchers said measuring walking speed at a younger age could be a way of testing treatments to slow human ageing.

A number of treatments, from low-calorie diets to taking the drug metformin, are currently being investigated.

It would also be an early indicator of brain and body health so people can make changes to their lifestyle while still young and healthy, the researchers said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×