Department of “Hah. I knew it!”
Hmm. Apparently, lots of walking — especially if you’re a fast walker — adds years to your life. Case in point, New Yorkers’ unusually high life expectancy:
Scientists who study urban health argue that it’s not just that we walk
more—it’s the way we walk that has a surprising spillover effect on
life spans. Researchers have long known that people here walked
fast—far faster than anyone else in the country. Indeed, the easiest
way to tell a New Yorker from an out-of-towner is by walking speed: The
natives blast down the sidewalk at blitzkrieg pace, and the visitors
mosey along like pack mules.
…
New York is literally designed to force people to walk, to climb
stairs—and to do it quickly. Driving in the city is maddening, pushing
us onto the sidewalks and up and down the stairs to the subways. What’s
more, our social contract dictates that you should move your ass when
you’re on the sidewalk, so as not to annoy your fellow walkers. … the very structure
of the city coerces us to exercise far more than people elsewhere in
the U.S., in a way that is strongly correlated with a far-better life
expectancy.(Clive Thompson, "Why New Yorkers Last Longer," New York Magazine)
Hah.
My rapid morning walk to the train station (complete with high-speed
jaywalking) is raising my life expectancy. I
knew it! This, along with ready access to museums and concerts and
interesting architecture and good food and bookstores and all that jazz, is why I’m
never moving to the suburbs if I can help it.
(Hat tip to Laura at 11D.)
Comments are closed.