Walk a little faster, eat a little slower, and lose weight quickly

Researchers report in the January edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), that adults who walk an average of One meter (or 3.28 feet) per second live longer, weigh less, and overall have less health problems. One meter per second is the equivalent for most people of brisk walking, but still at a pace they can carry a conversation on with a friend.

It seems, says Dr. Stephanie Studenski, that 1 meter per second is an important cut off point for human health. While a slow walking speed may be related to health problems in some of our subjects such as joint pain or heart and lung problems, the data clearly show that those that maintain a brisk walking pace obtain increased benefits in health and weight loss from the walk.

In the research study the participants were told to simply walk at their chosen pace while wearing a GPS device to gauge their walking speed along with other variables such as steps per minute and stride length. The average walking speed of the group was just under 3 feet per second, or 0.9 meters per second. When the researchers looked at the data along with other health related data obtained during the study the results clearly showed an increase in health and well being from walking at an average rate of at least 1 meter per second.

Additionally as GPS units become more common in daily technology gadgets the ability to measure walking speed might become a useful predictor of health in aging populations.

A second research study from the same group, though not reported in the January edition of JAMA recorded how quickly study participants ate a major meal such as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. While the national average that continues to be recorded is just under seven minutes for a meal, those that took longer than ten minutes to finish their meal weighed less than those that ate their meal in less than ten minutes on average.

Accordingly, the data now show that walking a little faster and eating slightly slower have health benefits that are substantial for the average American person.

To learn more about subjects like this and to start changing your body, please visit us at  New lifestyle Diet.

Hamilton Erridge is a weight loss professional. New Lifestyle Diet helps people lose weight and stay healthy by providing information and resources that help people make a lifestyle change so that the extra pounds shed are never put back on.

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