Covid: Slow walkers ‘more likely to die’, study finds
Image: Getty Images
People who walk slowly may be nearly four times more likely to die from Covid-19, a new study has found
This astonishing claim appeared on the BBC website on March 18th. It reads in it’s entirety:
Health researchers based in Leicester concluded slow walkers with a “normal” weight were 3.75 times more likely to die from the virus than brisk walkers.
The project used data collected from more than 400,000 middle-aged people.
Lead researcher Prof Tom Yates said self-reported walking pace could be used to predict whether someone was at higher risk from the virus.
The study, run by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, was designed to explore links between body mass index (BMI) and self-reported walking pace with the risk of contracting severe Covid-19 and mortality.
It used self-reported data from 412,596 people who participate in UK Biobank, a biomedical database and research study.
Slow walking was considered to be at a speed of less than three miles (4.8km) per hour, steady/average speed was three to four miles (6.4km) per hour, and brisk at more than four miles per hour.
Researchers also found slow walkers were 2.5 times more likely to develop severe Covid-19 than those in the fastest bracket.
Risk was uniformly high in normal weight slow walkers and slow walkers with obesity.
However, researchers noted that self-reported walking pace was subject to possible reporting bias and therefore no definitive causal conclusions could be derived from the results.
Prof Yates, a specialist in physical activity, sedentary behaviour and health at the University of Leicester, said:
“We know already that obesity and frailty are key risk factors for Covid-19 outcomes. This is the first study to show that slow walkers have a much higher risk of contracting severe Covid-19 outcomes, irrespective of their weight.”Ongoing public health and research surveillance studies should consider incorporating simple measures of physical fitness such as self-reported walking pace in addition to BMI, as potential risk predictors of Covid-19 outcomes.”
The study’s findings have been published in the International Journal of Obesity.
I cannot understand why the BBC have even reported this, unless the purpose was to keep adding to the fearmongering, because towards the bottom of the article it says “However, researchers noted that self-reported walking pace was subject to possible reporting bias and therefore no definitive causal conclusions could be derived from the results.”
No definitive causal conclusions could be derived from the results. In other words, it is nothing but ill-informed speculation.
See more here: bbc.co.uk
About the author: Andy Rowlands is a university graduate in space science and British Principia Scientific International researcher, writer and editor who co-edited the new climate science book, ‘The Sky Dragon Slayers: Victory Lap‘
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Roger Higgs
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‘International Journal of Obesity’.Yes, it really exists …
https://www.nature.com/ijo/
Good grief.
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yougottaloveme
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Understood that things are speculative. But perhaps there is a causative factor running between slow walking/slow physical motion and the propensity to be hit hard by a virus, especially of the pneuma-affecting type. For instance, are our gut bacteria, where 70 % of our immune system resides, aided in some way beneficial to us by an increased walking pace. Does the “pace control center” within our brains signal our immune systems on a continual basis to produce certain beneficial substances? Or is it that fast walkers are in generally better shape?
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very old white guy
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Your last sentence is the key.
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very old white guy
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I am old and I walk slow. I walk a lot, but slow. OMG, I AM GOING TO DIE! Eventually.
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Tom O
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Yet another subject “created” by a search for research funds. I seriously doubt that slow walkers are necessarily less fit than “fast walkers.” A person’s pace is not set by fitness, it is set by the mind. The LENGTH of the walk will more likely be set by fitness. I walk slower after I have just eaten, when I am thinking about other things, when I am taking in the scenery and sounds of the surroundings. In other words there are many reasons for setting a pace – if I am enjoying the walk, the pace is slower. Most people don’t just walk for fitness. If you aren’t enjoying your walk, you hurry. In other words, this “research” is more likely to be “rubbish” than “research with relevance.”
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James
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All it means is, keep fit all other aspects equal, and you’ll have a better chance of survival. Is that some new earth-shaking discovery? For years we’ve been told, to reduce the probability of sudden death, two hours exercise a week minimum, no smoke, no drink, no obesity. Anyone who keeps fit will walk fast if only to avoid sheer boredom, it’s an indicator, nothing more. Apply Bayes’ Theorem, you can’t go wrong.
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Charles Higley
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Note the almost entire absence of numbers. They mention the number of people surveyed, but not the death rate. If was are talking 1/100,000 going to 3.75/100,000, it’s still a low number. Typical of making numbers alarming, they only give the percentage and the “275% more likely” is simply for getting very ill and not dying. No death numbers at all. Why would that be? And how many of these people might have other health issues. So, if a “vaccine” causes serious issues or even death, they claim coincidence, but they very likely gleefully include other issues as Covid-19 related. It’s a double standard.
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