BBCLEARNINGENGLISHTakeAwayEnglish随身英语Slowwalkingandageing走路慢老得快Vocabulary:health词汇：健康Gettingoldmightnotbesomethingthat’syettocrossyourmind.Butageingisinevitablygoingtogetthebetterofusoneday,soit’ssomethingI’msurewe’dalllikecontrol.Itwouldbegreattohavealong,healthyandhappylife,andthat’swhyscientistsareconstantlyseekingoutevidencethatwillshowuswhatweneedtodotoachievelongevity.Weallknowthatregularexerciseisgoodforus.Inrecentyearswe’vebeentoldtoaimtowalk10,000stepsadaytoremainhealthy,althoughotheradvicetodothreebrisk10-minutewalksadayisthoughttobeevenmoreeffective.Butthelatestpieceofresearchmightputaspringinyourstepifyou’resomeonewhowalksatafastpace.That’sbecause,accordingtoscientists,thespeedatwhichpeoplewalkintheir40sisasignofhowmuchtheirbrains,aswellastheirbodies,areageing.TheBBC’sPhilippaRoxbywritesthattestson1,000peoplefromNewZealandborninthe1970sfoundthatslowerwalkerstendedtoshowsignsof"acceleratedageing".Theirlungs,teethandimmunesystemswereinworseshapethanthosewhowalkedfaster.Andtoaddinsulttoinjury,thestudyfoundnotonlydidslowerwalkers'bodiesagemorequickly,theirfaceslookedolderandtheyhadsmallerbrains.ProfessorTerrieEMoffitt,leadauthorofthestudy,toldtheBBC:"[it]foundthataslowwalkisaproblemsigndecadesbeforeoldage."Thismightbeseenasawake-upcallforpeoplewithaslowergaitwhomightfeelit’stimetoworkoutandgetfitter.Butitmightbetoolate;researcherswritinginJAMANetworkOpensaytheywereabletopredictthewalkingspeedof45-year-oldsusingtheresultsofintelligence,languageandmotorskillstestsfromwhentheywereagedthree.Theyalsosuggestthateveninearlylife,therearesignsshowingwhichpeoplewillgoontohaveahealthierlife.So,what’sthepointofknowingthataslowerwalkingpacemightmeanasmallerbrain?Well,researcherssaymeasuringwalkingspeedatayoungerage,andunderstandingwhatthismightmean,couldbeawayoftestingtreatmentstoslowhumanageing.Thismighthelpusmakelifestylechangeswhilewe’restillyoungandhealthy.Anystepswecantaketoprolongagoodmentalandphysicalstateisanobrainer!T