If You Can Walk This Fast After 70, Your Brain Is Aging Slower Than 90% of Peers - Eat This Not That

What the report says

Eat This, Not That reported on July 22, 2026, that walking pace in adults over 70 can serve as a practical marker of overall health and may be associated with slower brain aging. The article, written by Alexa Mellardo, cites Dr. Mariam Zakhary, a double board-certified physician in physical medicine and rehabilitation and sports medicine and a clinical adviser to Ikon Recovery Center in New Jersey.

According to the report, Dr. Zakhary said faster usual walking speeds in older adults have been linked in research with stronger cognitive function and reduced risks of disability, hospitalization and death. She cautioned, however, that walking faster should not be interpreted as directly causing slower brain aging; rather, gait speed reflects the combined function of systems including the brain, heart, lungs, muscles and nerves.

For people over 70, the article says a useful target is a brisk pace at which a person can talk but not sing. Dr. Zakhary described a typical range of about 1.2 to 1.4 meters per second, or roughly 2.7 to 3.1 miles per hour, as consistent with physical fitness that supports healthy aging, while noting that the right goal depends on each person’s mobility and current fitness.

The article also offers safety-oriented advice for improving pace: increase speed gradually, try intervals that alternate brisk and slower walking, and strengthen the hips, glutes, calves and core while practicing balance. It adds that walking should be paired with resistance training, balance work and stretching, and that routines may need more distance, intensity or varied terrain over time to keep producing benefits.