Does walking more slow down frailty?
Ageing is associated with frailty, which is characterized by a decline in physical function and an increased risk of adverse health outcomes.
Physical inactivity is likely a major factor that leads to frailty. Therefore, more active older adults may be less likely to become frail.
This study investigated the association between daily step count and the prevalence of frailty in older adults.
Participants wore accelerometers during waking hours over the course of 10 days in order to estimate their average daily step count. Frailty was evaluated by using validated frailty assessment questionnaires. While a questionnaire is not the best measurement tool, it allowed for a large total number of subjects (n=3616).
A negative association was found between daily step count and the prevalence of frailty.
This suggests that walking more may delay the onset of frailty with ageing. Even a small increase of 10 minutes walking time (i.e. 1000 steps) per day may have a positive effect.
A limitation of this study was its observational nature. So, this study is not proof that walking more prevents frailty (correlation is not necessarily causation).
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