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Wesley M. Fiser, Nicholas P. Hays, Sarah Clary Rogers, Oumitana Kajkenova, Ann Elizabeth Williams, Christopher M. Evans, William J. Evans, Energetics of Walking in Elderly People: Factors Related to Gait Speed, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Volume 65A, Issue 12, December 2010, Pages 1332–1337, https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glq137
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Abstract
Slow walking speed in elderly people predicts increased morbidity and mortality. We examined factors that may be associated with decreased habitual walking speed in older men and women.
Older (range: 60–88 years, mean = 72.5 years) men (n = 25) and women (n = 24) were recruited. The Short Physical Performance Battery, body composition, VO2peak on a treadmill, VO2 and rated perceived exertion during 10 minutes of walking at habitual gait speed and at a walking speed of 0.9 m/s, muscle strength, and level of physical activity were measured.
VO2peak was strongly related to habitual gait speed (r = .744, p < .001) and remained significant even after controlling for age, muscle strength, and gender. Compared with the tertile of fastest walkers (mean gait speed, 1.37 ± 0.04 m/s), the tertile of slowest walkers (0.87 ± 0.02 m/s) were older (p < .001), shorter (p = .026), had lower lean body mass (p = .011), lower strength ( p < .001), less self-reported daily physical activity (p = .102), and higher relative (to VO2peak) intensity during walking at their habitual speed (65.3% ± 3.9% vs 54.3% ± 2.1% of VO2peak, p = .013).
VO2peak was strongly associated with habitual walking speed, suggesting that as aerobic capacity declines with age, the exertion associated with habitual gait speed increases. A slowing of walking speed may be a response to increased perception of exertion. The extent to which exercise training affects habitual gait speed and fatigue is not clear.
