Perhaps, with that all in mind, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that walking can de-age our cells and tissues. After all, walking is exercise. But the really interesting thing is how quickly and dramatically walking can reduce our biological age.

A 2022 study of more than 400,000 UK adults found that as little as 10 minutes’ brisk walking a day was associated with having longer telomeres (part of your chromosomes associated with ageing). That correlated to having a biological age that appeared a whopping 16 years younger by the time people reached middle age.

That means the power walk you do to the station every morning because you never leave early enough to catch the train comfortably is doing a huge amount of good. You don’t have to go on runs or walk very far to reap the huge, full-body benefits – a functionally fast walk from A to B is enough.

Just 10 minutes of walking can knock 16 years off your biological age by midlife – here’s why