Walk faster when you are 70 to evade Grim Reaper!

Washington: A study has found that men who are aged 70 and older can escape the Grim Reaper by walking at speeds of at least 3 miles (5km) an hour.

The researchers say that for the first time they have estimated the speed at which the Grim Reaper usually walked: about 1.8 miles per hour. He never walked faster than 3 miles per hour.

The Grim Reaper is a well-known mythological and literary figure who personifies death.

To assess his role in mortality and walking speed, a team of researchers based at Concord Hospital in Sydney, Australia analysed the walking patterns of 1,705 men aged 70 and over who were participating in The Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project (CHAMP).

The researchers assessed participants’ walking speed at baseline and survival over the five-year study period.

A total of 266 deaths were observed during the follow-up.

The results show that their average walking speed was 0.88 metres per second (m/s).

No men with walking speeds of 1.36 m/s (3 miles per hour) or above had contact with the Grim Reaper.

The authors concluded that the results support their theory “that faster speeds are protective against mortality because fast walkers can maintain a safe distance from the Grim Reaper.”
The finding was published on bmj.com.