Buzz
If your goal is just health and not something specific like race victories, does it really matter if you walk, jog, or run? Light jogging has proven to yield the best results in studies, but any activity more intense than lounging on the couch brings some health benefits.
Emily Oster reviewed a range of studies on walking and running speeds, summarizing them on FiveThirtyEight. These studies focus less on short-term goals like weight loss or cholesterol, and more on comparing different groups' “hazard ratio” of death: A lower ratio means you’re slightly less likely to die in the near future compared to others. Oster’s findings conclude that:
Looking at this research, we can draw a few conclusions. First, any form of exercise lowers your risk of death. Second, the best exercise is light to moderate jogging, at a speed between 5 and 7 mph. Doing this for 25 minutes, about three times a week, is enough. The data shows that running more—whether it’s farther or faster—won’t lower your death risk any further.
If you’re a dedicated runner, this doesn’t mean you should slow down—just that speeding up won’t give you any additional health benefits. Furthermore, all exercisers in the studies, including those who took a gentle 20-minute walk daily, had better health outcomes than those who didn’t exercise at all. Your best approach might be finding an activity you enjoy and can commit to, rather than focusing on your speed.
Image by Giorgio Galeotti.
