Not only does walking quickly help you get where you want to go faster, research shows that it can reduce your chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
Increasing the pace to 6 km/h can reduce the risk by 39 percent, while every 1 km/h reduces the risk by a further 9 percent.
Experts said it was something everyone could do in their daily lives to stop the diabetes time bomb.
Increasing speed to 6 km/h can reduce risk by 39 percent, while every 1 km/h reduces risk by a further 9 percent
An international team of researchers, including from Imperial College London, wanted to determine the optimal walking speed to prevent the disease.
They looked at ten studies published between 1999 and 2022, with follow-up periods of three to eleven years.
A total of approximately 508,121 adult patients were included from the United Kingdom, Japan and the US.
The team found that walking at a speed between 3 km/h and 5 km/h reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 15 percent, compared to walking at a pace of less than 3 km per hour.
The risk decreased further at a faster pace, with a fairly brisk walk between 3.1 (5 km/h) and 3.7 mph (6 km/h) associated with a quarter (24 percent) lower risk.
Those who ran at a speed of more than 6km/h had a 39 per cent lower risk of developing the condition, according to the findings published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
This may be because people with a faster walking speed are likely to be fitter, have greater muscle mass and better overall health.
Brisk walking is also good for weight loss, which helps improve insulin sensitivity, they said.
They conclude: ‘Although current strategies to increase overall walking time are beneficial, it may also be reasonable to encourage people to walk faster to further increase the health benefits of walking.’
Rising obesity levels have been blamed for rising diabetes levels in Britain, with estimates that there are now more than 5 million cases.
About 90 percent of diabetes cases are type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and typically diagnosed in middle age, rather than type 1 diabetes, a genetic condition usually diagnosed early in life.
Neil Gibson from Diabetes UK said: ‘Walking is free, easy and for most people can be integrated into regular activities such as going to work, shopping and visiting friends.
‘While it is usually recommended to move to a faster pace for greater health benefits, it is important that people walk at a pace they can manage and that is right for them.’