Walking Speed and Balance: Two Simple Signs of Healthy Aging

Doctors have started calling walking speed "the sixth vital sign." Here's why it matters, and why balance does too.

Walking speed

A study in JAMA pooled data on almost 35,000 adults over 65, followed for up to 21 years. Every small step up in walking speed (0.1 meters per second) was linked to 12% lower risk of death. People who walked about a meter per second or faster tended to live longer than expected for their age and sex.

Walking speed is an honest snapshot of strength, balance, heart and lungs, all at once.

Standing on one leg

In a 2022 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, adults aged 51 to 75 tried to stand on one leg for 10 seconds. People who couldn't do it had an 84% higher risk of dying over about seven years, even after accounting for other health factors. More than half of people aged 71 to 75 couldn't pass.

It's a clear sign that balance matters for more than avoiding falls.

Strength

A large review found muscle-strengthening activity was linked to a 10–17% lower risk of death, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. The biggest benefit came at just 30 to 60 minutes a week.

What you can do

• Keep moving, with a focus on balance and strength. In the research, this kind of exercise lowers falls, and it builds the walking speed and steadiness that go along with a longer life.
• Make it easy to show up. A class you can join from your living room is a class you'll actually take.
• Watch the trend, not just the day. A gradual slowdown in walking or balance is easy to miss when you're around someone every day.

That's what BioAlign Care At Home does. It follows walking and balance over time, so families can see changes early. And with Yoga at Home, your loved one can join 17 live classes a week, including Balance & Mobility and Gentle Chair Yoga, taught by instructors who focus on aging, including C-IAYT certified yoga therapists.

Learn more about BioAlign Care At Home

BioAlign Care At Home is a wellness and safety monitoring aid, not a medical device, and Yoga at Home is designed to support strength, balance, and functioning, not to treat any condition. The research cited describes exercise in general, not BioAlign specifically. KinovaAI LLC, Fresno, CA.

Sources

• Studenski et al., JAMA, 2011
• Araujo et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2022
• Momma et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2022
• Sherrington et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019