Walking Speed Tracking

Monitor the "sixth vital sign" for functional capacity and health outcomes

What is Walking Speed?

Walking speed (also called gait speed) is the average speed you walk at a steady pace, measured in meters per second (m/s). Apple Watch and iPhone automatically measure walking speed during regular activity.

Why Walking Speed Matters: The "Sixth Vital Sign"

Walking speed is often called the "sixth vital sign" because it's such a powerful predictor of health outcomes (JAMA 2011):

  • Predicts mortality risk - Slower gait speed associated with worse outcomes in older adults
  • Indicates functional capacity - Reflects strength, balance, coordination, and cardiovascular health
  • Early warning sign - Declining walking speed may indicate emerging health problems
  • Independent of age - Faster walkers live longer across all age groups

Critical threshold: Walking speed <0.8 m/s often flags higher risk of hospitalization, disability, and mortality (PMC open access).

Walking Speed Ranges

General Guidelines

  • >1.0 m/s - Good functional capacity
  • 0.8-1.0 m/s - Fair functional capacity
  • <0.8 m/s - Increased risk, consider evaluation

Age-Adjusted

Walking speed naturally declines with age. Typical healthy ranges:

  • Ages 20-59 - 1.2-1.4 m/s
  • Ages 60-69 - 1.1-1.3 m/s
  • Ages 70-79 - 1.0-1.2 m/s
  • Ages 80+ - 0.9-1.1 m/s

How Cardio Analytics Uses Walking Speed Data

  • Tracks speed trends - Visualize changes over days, weeks, and months
  • Flags declines - Alerts when speed drops significantly below your baseline
  • Highlights <0.8 m/s threshold - Critical risk indicator
  • Correlates with symptoms - See if symptoms (fatigue, pain) affect walking speed
  • Medication correlations - Track impact of medications on functional capacity

📊 Track long-term trends: Walking speed varies day-to-day. Focus on multi-week trends rather than single measurements.

HealthKit Data Types

Cardio Analytics reads walking speed data from Apple HealthKit using this identifier:

  • walkingSpeed - Average steady walking speed (m/s) (Apple Docs)

Learn More About HealthKit Integration

Scientific References

  1. Studenski S, et al. Gait Speed and Survival in Older Adults. JAMA. 2011. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/644554 (Open access: PMC)

View All References

Track Your Walking Speed with Cardio Analytics

Monitor the sixth vital sign for early detection of functional decline.

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