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Walk a Quarter-Mile or Die If you can walk a quarter-mile, odds (可能性) are you have at least six years of life left in you, scientists say. And the faster you can {{U}}(51) {{/U}} it, the longer you might live. While walking is no guarantee of {{U}}(52) {{/U}} or longevity (长寿), a new study found that the ability of elderly people to do the quarter-mile was an "important determinant (决定因素) " in whether or not they'd be {{U}}(53) {{/U}} six years later and how much illness and disability they would endure. "The {{U}}(54) {{/U}} to complete this walk was a powerful predictor of health outcomes. " said study leader Anne Newman of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. " In fact, we {{U}}(55) {{/U}} that the people who could not complete the walk were {{U}}(56) {{/U}} an extremely high risk of later disability and death. " Newman and colleagues recruited nearly 2,700 white and African-American men and women aged 70 to 79 to {{U}}(57) {{/U}} the walk. All the participants were screened and determined to be in relatively {{U}}(58) {{/U}} health, and they had all said they had previously walked that far with no {{U}}(59) {{/U}}. Only 86 percent of them finished, {{U}}(60) {{/U}}. The scientists then monitored the health and mortality of all {{U}}(61) {{/U}} for the next six years. "There was a big gap in health outcomes {{U}}(62) {{/U}} people who could complete the longer walk and people who could not, with the latter being at an extremely high {{U}}(63) {{/U}} of becoming disabled or dying. " Newman said. "What was really surprising is that these people were not {{U}}(64) {{/U}} of how weak they actually were. " Finishing times were found to be crucial, too. Those who completed the walk but were among the slowest 25 percent {{U}}(65) {{/U}} three times greater risk of death than the speedier folks. |