Science is Zeroing in On It, But You Don’t Have to Wait If You Can Walk!

A recent focus of medical news is that deactivating a protein called IL-11 has been proven to extend the healthy lifespan of mice by 25%. Better still, the researchers had created an IL-11 antibody that they used for their study with no side effects (other than the improved longevity and health)!
 
The study was an international joint effort between the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Science, Imperial College London, and Duke-NUS Medical School in North Carolina. The results were significant: mice treated with the anti-IL-11 drug from 75 weeks of age until their death showed a median lifespan extension of 22.5% in males and 25% in females, living an average of 155 weeks compared to 120 weeks in untreated mice.
 
In addition, the treatment significantly decreased cancer-related deaths in the animals and reduced various diseases associated with fibrosis, chronic inflammation, and poor metabolism, which are typical of aging. Professor Stuart Cook, one of the study’s authors said, “The possibility that anti-IL-11 might work to extend human healthspan and lifespan might be tested in the near future in clinical trials as anti-IL-11 is already in safety testing trials in humans.”
 
This all sounds very exciting. But there is something almost everyone can do right now that has almost exactly the same effect. You’ve likely heard it all before, but in light of the news about this potential anti-aging wonder drug, let’s take a look at the latest research about the impact of walking on human “healthspan” and “lifespan.”
 
To define our terms: Lifespan refers to the total number of years we live, from birth to death. Healthspan, on the other hand, is how long we remain healthy and free from serious chronic diseases or disabilities.
 
As it turns out, walking also significantly decreases cancer-related deaths and reduces various diseases associated with fibrosis, chronic inflammation, and poor metabolism, which are typical of aging. As a matter of fact, walking boasts a few more extraordinary benefits as well, which extend both our healthspans and lifespans.
 
  1. Walking reduces your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, which happens to be the leading cause of death in the United States. A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that walking 2,337 steps per day can reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Another study found that every 500 steps you take per day is associated with a 7% lower risk of death from cardiovascular causes.
  2. Walking reduces your risk of developing 7 different types of cancer. In a 2020 study, researchers found that the minimum recommended amount (2.5 hours per week total) of walking reduced the risk of cancers including male colon cancer (8%), female breast cancer (6%), endometrial cancer (10%), kidney cancer (11%), multiple myeloma (14%), liver cancer (18%), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (11%). The more minutes you walk above the minimum, the lower your risk. Other moderate exercises that raise your heart rate a bit also reduce your risk. But what is easier than walking?
  3. Walking counteracts the effects of weight-promoting genes. It turns out that many of us have a genetic propensity towards gaining weight. Of course, being overweight or obese greatly increases our risk of developing a wide variety of serious diseases. Harvard researchers looked at 32 obesity-promoting genes in more than 12,000 people to determine how much these genes actually contribute to body weight. Among the study participants who walked briskly for about an hour a day, the effects of those genes were cut in half.
  4. It may seem counter-intuitive, but walking has been proven to ease joint pain. Several studies have found that walking reduces arthritis-related pain, and that walking five to six miles a week can even prevent arthritis from forming in the first place. Walking protects the joints—especially the knees and hips, which are most susceptible to osteoarthritis—by lubricating them and strengthening the muscles that support them.
  5. Walking boosts immune function. Walking can help protect you during cold and flu season. A study of over 1,000 men and women found that those who walked at least 20 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week, had 43% fewer sick days than those who exercised once a week or less. And if they did get sick, it was for a shorter duration, and their symptoms were milder.
  6. Walking has been proven to reduce your risk of dying from any cause. A study published in August 2023, found that walking a mere 3,967 steps per day can lower your risk of dying from any cause.
 
Finally, this isn’t directly related to longevity, but here’s a bonus fact about walking.
 
Walking can help tame a sweet tooth. A pair of studies from the University of Exeter found that a mere 15-minute walk can curb cravings for chocolate and can even reduce the amount of chocolate you eat in stressful situations. More recent research confirms that walking can reduce cravings and help you reduce your intake of a variety of sugary snacks.
 
So, let’s review: Walking can behave like a wonder drug, keeping us healthy and extending our lifespan. The question is, how can we make walking work that way for us?
 

The Nature of “Wonder Walking”

Walking, in these studies, doesn’t mean a stroll in the park or a window-shopping walk. You also do not have to engage in intense powerwalking or speedwalking to get the amazing health benefits of walking. This is all you need:
 
  • Your walking should provide moderate exercise, raising your heart rate enough so that you can carry on a conversation but cannot sing a song.
  • If you happen to wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker that measures your heart rate, you can get a more precise measure of your exercise level. Calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. Moderate exercise keeps your heart rate at 50–70% of its maximum.
  • You do not have to walk 10,000 steps a day to get the health benefits of walking. As you can see by the studies mentioned above, the optimal amount has varied. At the right pace, 4000 steps per day will do it. The NIH recommends 2.5 hours a week (minimum) of moderate exercise. That’s the equivalent of 30 minutes five times a week or about 22 minutes per day. You have to admit, that’s pretty doable.
 

Some Walking Habit Hacks

Obviously, you need to make it a habit in order to use walking as your life-extending wonder drug. But with so much now known about habit creation, you should be able to find strategies that work for you to create and maintain your own walking habit.
 
  • Start small. You don’t have to start with regular 30-minute walks. If you start by planning 10-minute walks, it will help you find the right time(s) of day, and it will make it easier for you to succeed at the beginning. That early success is a powerful motivator. If you successfully plan and achieve your goal of 10-minutes a day, you will subconsciously consider yourself as someone who walks (not to mention someone who achieves their goals). Once that happens, 15-minutes, 20-minutes, 30-minutes will be a snap.
  • Plan and anchor. Don’t hope or assume that you will be able to find 10 minutes in your day to walk. It seems like it should be easy, but life has a way of distracting you from your best intentions. By scheduling your walks, even if they are short or early in the morning, you will know exactly when you are going to get started and can envision yourself doing it. One of the best habit hacks is to anchor a new habit to an existing one. Find something you do every day and connect your new habit to it. You don’t have to have the same anchor every day, but you have to have an anchor every day. For example, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you could walk right after you wake up in the morning. Tuesday and Thursday, you could walk before, after, or instead of lunch.
  • Make it easy. Make sure you are ready at whatever time you have scheduled your walk, with comfortable, supportive shoes and the right clothing for the weather. You want to optimize your chances of actually walking at the prescribed time and if you only have dress shoes with you, you probably won’t walk for exercise. If you do, you’re not likely to do it again.
  • Be consistent. It doesn’t matter if you only have three minutes. If you walk, even a little, every day (or on the days you plan to) it will become a habit. Keep it up, and not only will your walks get longer, but after a while you won’t be able to imagine your day without it. That is when walking starts to become a wonder drug.
  • Track your progress. Take our word for it. Even if you can only manage to start with one minute a day for the first week or two, your walks will get better and longer without any effort at all. So, it’s a good idea to track your progress – steps, minutes, heart rate—whatever you choose. Jot it down on a calendar, in your phone notes, or on a habit tracker and see how your walking habit blossoms without you even trying.
  • Add perks. Pick something fun you only listen to when you walk. You can make a playlist of your favorite tunes, pick a provocative podcast, or listen to a fascinating audiobook. It won’t take long for you to really look forward to your life-extending walks.
 

The Bottom Line on Making Walking your Wonder Drug

2.5 hours a week of walking at 50-70% of your maximum heart rate will lower your mortality risk and help you live healthier longer. The proven benefits of walking are quite similar to the benefits of new drugs being developed to extend our healthspans and lifespans. Use the basic principles of habit formation to add this amazing health benefit to your life.
 
  • Start small.
  • Plan and anchor your new habit.
  • Make it easy.
  • Be consistent.
  • Track your progress.
  • Add something compelling to your walk.
 
Most of all, have fun with it. What’s the point of living longer if you’re not having fun?
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