Nutrition Guidelines

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Walking and Hip Fracture Rate

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Preventing hip fractures is another good advantage of regular walking. The more you walk, the less chance of a hip fracture later in life. Harvard researchers tracked over 60,000 women for 12 years looking at their activity level and risk of hip fracture. Here is what they found:

Women who regularly walked briskly about 1 hour per day had a 55% reduced risk of hip fracture.
Women who walked briskly for 4 hours per week had a 41% lower risk of a hip fracture.
For every extra hour of brisk walking per week, the risk of hip fracture dropped by 6%.
Walking pace was also predictive. Women who walked at an average pace (compared to an easy pace) had 49% fewer hip fractures. Those women who walked very briskly had a 65% reduced risk.
Women who stood at least 55 hours per week also had lower risk of hip fractures (28%) compared to women who stood less than 10 hours per week.

These results are adjusting for age, BMI, smoking, and other possible confounders. The authors conclude their study by saying, "Walking is the most common exercise and is a suitable activity for lowering fracture risk¹."

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References

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1. Diane Feskanich, Walter Willett, et al. Walking and Leisure-time activity and risk of hip fracture in postmenopausal women, JAMA Nov. 13, 2002; 288:2300-06

Making Healthy Choices articles are written by Don Hall, DrPH, CHES president of LifeLong Health with contributions from associated health professionals. Content is general health information from evidence based research. It's purpose is not to treat disease or take the place of advice by your doctor but to promote healthy lifestyles. Persons with health problems should contact their physician for specific guidance.

Updated: 2-27-03 DRH