Regular walking may reduce the risk of stroke in older men, a new study has found.

US researchers followed the progress of over 3,400 healthy men aged between 60 and 80 over a 10-year period.

The men were divided into five groups depending on how many hours per week they spent walking:
-Zero to three hours
-Four to seven
-Eight to 14
-15 to 21
-More than 22 hours.

At least four in 10 of the men were found to walk for more than eight hours per week, while almost one in 10 walked for more than 22 hours per week.

The study found that overall, those who walked for one to two hours per day had a reduced risk of suffering a stroke compared to those who walked for less than 30 minutes per day.

A closer analysis found that the risk of a stroke was around two-thirds lower in men who walked more than 22 hours per week compared to those who walked for less than three hours per week.

Men who walked for eight to 14 hours per week reduced their risk of a stroke by one-third compared to men who walked less than three hours.

"If you took 1,000 men who usually walk eight to 14 hours per week and followed them for 10 years, on average they would have 55 strokes, compared with 80 for the group who only walk zero to three hours per week," explained the study's first author, Dr Barbara Jefferis, of University College London.

She said that the total time spent walking ‘was more consistently protective against stroke than walking pace'.

"Overall it seemed that accumulating more time walking was most beneficial. Our findings suggest that regular walking each week could be an important part of stroke prevention strategies in older people," Dr Jefferis added.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Stroke.