The Fast Walkers May Be Onto Something
I spend a lot of time encouraging my clients to keep moving, even when it’s just a daily walk. Studies like this remind me that how we move may tell us just as much as how much we move.
This June 2026 study by Jayakody, published in Neurology, examined adults aged 80 and older classified as “super movers”—those who walked substantially faster than their peers. Compared with nonsuper movers, they had about a 50% lower risk of developing cognitive impairment, slower cognitive decline, and better preservation of parts of the hippocampus, a brain region important for memory.
The study suggest that maintaining mobility in later life may be associated with healthier cognitive aging, although the study does not establish that faster walking directly prevents dementia.
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