How fast can you walk? Health care workers believe that your gait speed is one of two markers of healthy aging.
The other indicator is grip strength, according to Loretta DiPietro, professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.
“Those are two determinants of your ability to live alone in early age,” she told WTOP. “I’m not saying that you want to live alone, but most people want to age in place — in their own home.”
DiPietro said these dual markers can give doctors an accurate and consistent reading of what’s happening internally, be it strength, agility or cognitive ability.
“They’re measures of so many things, and they’re measured fairly precisely, which may be another reason why they keep coming up as indicators,” she said.
Doctors recommend improving gait speed and grip strength before fast-twitching muscle fibers and cardiovascular functions weaken with age.
“People wait until they’re a train wreck, and then they retire,” said DiPietro, who primarily treats 70 and 80-year-old patients. “And then they decide, ‘Oh, I’m going to start training.’ But it takes so much more to reverse something than it takes to prevent it. Start as early as possible.”
The best way to improve the dual indicators is to stay active by walking more and using hand weights during exercise.
“As part of your daily walk, you could walk with tennis balls that you squeeze in your hands,” said DiPietro. “Or take a TheraBand with you and crunch each finger, one at a time, as you walk.”
