
Association of Neurocognitive and Physical Function with Gait Speed in Midlife - bookofjoe
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2752818
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vezycash
I think this study is missing something - adults are expected to walk slow
sort of.

As a kid, I ran everywhere - even on errands. As an ambitious teen in uni, I
walked very fast like I was stepping on hot coals until I got this girl who
wasn't my "girlfriend" but we spent a lot of time together. Then she trained
the speed-walking out of me. At first, I was always in front of her without
realizing it. Then like a puppy on a leash, she'd tug me back until her speed
became my normal walking speed.

10 years later, I still walk at that pace and run out of breath whenever I
walk to get out of the hot sun.

As an adult, I'm expected to walk at a measured pace. There are times I'd want
to just jump and start running but I can't, cos people would think I've gone
mad, unless I have an excuse - rain.

So I'll say the gait speed of adults is more of a measure of how they have
been walking for years.

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grawprog
>As an adult, I'm expected to walk at a measured pace. There are times I'd
want to just jump and start running but I can't, cos people would think I've
gone mad

What are the chances you're ever going to see any of those people who'll
'think you're mad' on a daily basis, or even again at all and if you do how
will them 'thinking you're mad' affect your life in any way?

Also, people are far too worried about what other people think of them to care
how fast or slow you walk.

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rlonn
Some people cower and wince and shrink, owing to fear of what others might
think. There is one answer to worries like these: people may think what the
devil they please.

I make it a matter of principle to do childish things when I feel like it, and
I think it helps keep me young(er). Had to stop jumping over the fence when
picking up my kids from preschool though after a teacher told me it made it
harder for them to keep the kids from leaving the premises. Can't win them
all!

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tartoran
I find that slow walking is way more tiring than going fast. When going fast
it is initially more taxing but when muscles adjust the inertia caused seems
to be easier to control. Walking slow is more laborious for balance imo. This
is my experience and I don’t have the best posture either so ymmv

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Angostura
In our family we call it the museum shuffle.

You need to get your legs swinging nicely to be efficient

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tartoran
Yes! I get extremely tired when I walk in a museum as I need to look at
things. At the end of the day I am extremely exhausted but if I look at the
"mileage" it is very low. I wonder if there's a more scientifically sound
explanation for this phenomenon

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magic_beans
It's sensory overload. Which is indeed physically exhausting.

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scarmig
I'm curious if height is accounted for: nutritional deficiencies in childhood
manifest themselves in both decreased height and decreased neurocognitive
function. Decreased height would also lead to a decreased gait speed.

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cagenut
Thus confirming the suspicions of every New Yorker stuck walking behind a
tourist.

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mekane8
I love how readable this report is! If more research study reports were
written in this approachable manner we might end up with a more scientifically
literate society.

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UnFleshedOne
Now when I'm stuck behind slow people in a narrow space, I can think of them
not only as potentially gravely ill on the verge of collapsing, but also
consider how their mental faculties are rapidly declining. This is science
with obvious benefits!

