Public health professionals have long promoted the benefits of walking. Yet the evidence base has mostly come from predominantly white, middle- and high-income groups.

Two companion studies now extend that knowledge to the very populations that bear a disproportionate burden of chronic disease: low-income and Black adults across the southeastern United States.

Together, the analyses paint a compelling picture of how a single, inexpensive habit – walking briskly for as little as 15 minutes a day – can reduce mortality by nearly one-fifth. It may also help shrink persistent health inequities.

Tracking walking in real life

The data comes from the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), one of the nation’s largest investigations of health in underserved groups.

Between 2002 and 2009, the SCCS enrolled about 85,000 adults aged 40 to 79. Community health centers that serve low-income patients in 12 southeastern states recruited about 86 percent of participants.

For the present analyses, researchers led by Vanderbilt epidemiologist Wei Zheng and doctoral investigator Lili Liu focused on 79,856 participants who had provided detailed baseline information about their daily walking habits.

Participants reported the number of minutes they typically spent each day walking slowly (e.g. moving around, walking to work, walking their dogs or engaging in light exercise) and walking fast (e.g. climbing stairs, brisk walking, or heavier exercising).

The researchers linked self-reports to death records, enabling them to track 26,862 deaths over 16.7 years through 2022.

Fast walking, big payoff

Crunching the numbers yielded a striking headline: fast walking for just 15 minutes a day was associated with a 19 percent reduction in risk of death from any cause. Slow walking, even when performed for more than three hours daily, produced a far smaller benefit.

“This is one of the few studies to quantify the effect of daily walking on mortality in a low‑income and predominantly Black U.S. population,” Zheng said.

“By demonstrating the benefits of fast walking – which is a low‑cost and largely accessible activity – we provide direct evidence to inform targeted public health interventions and policies to improve health outcomes.”

Critically, the protective effect of a brisk pace held up after adjusting for smoking, diet, body mass index, education and leisure‑time physical activity (LTPA).

Even among participants who already engaged in some form of LTPA, tacking on more fast walking further reduced mortality risk. In other words, intensity mattered over and above total activity volume.

Heart health powers survival

The mortality benefit was most pronounced for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. That aligns with physiological data showing that brisk walking boosts cardiac output, improves oxygen delivery, and helps manage weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

According to Zheng, brisk walking offers a convenient, accessible, and low-impact activity that individuals of all ages and fitness levels can use to improve overall health and cardiovascular health specifically.

“While the health benefits of daily walking are well established, limited research has investigated how factors such as walking pace affect mortality, particularly in low-income and Black/African American populations,” noted Liu.

“Our research has shown that fast walking as little as 15 minutes a day is associated with a nearly 20 percent reduction in total mortality, while a smaller reduction in mortality is seen with more than three hours of daily slow walking.”

Liu said that this benefit remained strong even after accounting for other lifestyle factors and was consistent across various sensitivity analyses.

Why walking isn’t easy

Of course, telling people to walk faster is easier than ensuring they can do so safely. Low‑income communities often lack sidewalks, greenways, and street lighting; crime or heavy traffic may further discourage outdoor exercise.

They are also more likely to be situated in polluted areas where air quality can offset some cardiovascular gains. Economic constraints, shift work, and limited access to healthcare compound the challenge.

Nevertheless, the simplicity of brisk walking renders it uniquely scalable. “Public health campaigns and community‑based programs can emphasize the importance and availability of fast walking to improve health outcomes,” Liu said.

“Individuals should strive to incorporate more intense physical activity into their routines, such as brisk walking or other forms of aerobic exercise.”

What doctors and cities can do

For clinicians, the message is straightforward: prescribe pace, not just steps. A recommendation as modest as 15 brisk minutes per day is tangible, trackable, and unlikely to intimidate sedentary patients.

From a policy standpoint, the findings bolster the case for investing in walkable infrastructure. Well-lit paths, traffic-calming measures, and park renovations are especially needed in neighborhoods where health disparities are most acute.

Public health agencies might also consider workplace interventions. Many of the SCCS participants hold hourly jobs with limited flexibility.

Safe walking routes and short, brisk breaks could significantly boost employee health and productivity.

What the study missed

The authors acknowledge that participants self-reported their walking habits only at enrollment, leaving later changes unmeasured.

The survey questions could not capture stride length, incline, or terrain, each of which influences exertion.

Even so, the study’s sheer scale, long follow‑up and racial diversity make its conclusions unusually persuasive. Because vital status came from the National Death Index, outcome misclassification is minimal.

Walking toward health equity

Cardiometabolic disease will not be solved by walking alone. But in regions where healthcare dollars are scarce and gym memberships out of reach, the humble act of upping one’s pace may be the most democratic medicine available.

These twin studies make the evidence compelling, especially for populations often overlooked in earlier research.

In short, fifteen brisk minutes a day is not merely “better than nothing.” For tens of thousands of low‑income Black Americans – and likely millions more nationwide – it could be the difference between an early grave and years of life reclaimed.

When public health officials craft their next round of guidelines, that simple prescription deserves top billing.

One of the studies was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

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