When Tony Bennett crooned "I Walk a Little Faster," he was singing about how looking for love put some pep in his step. Looking for health can do that too.

Walking is known as the sixth vital sign — an important indicator of current and future vitality — along with body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation.

That's because your gait (stride, speed and balance) says a lot about your cognition and executive decision-making, as well as your muscle tone and vision. Every step involves processing complex information about your surroundings, your balance, your cardio-respiratory function, and overall strength.

Now a study has found that your ability to walk two-thirds of a mile without trouble indicates whether or not you're headed for a bone fracture in the next five years.

The research, published in JAMA Network Open, looked at data on more than 265,0000 adults ages 45 and older and found that women who said they were limited "a lot" in walking that distance had a 60% higher fracture risk than women with no limitation. For guys, the increased risk was more than 100%.

When we talk about walking the walk, with a goal of 10,000 steps a day or the equivalent, it's not because it's just kind of good for you. It’s life-changing.

For help reaching that goal, check out the tips at LongevityPlaybook.com, such as: Taking 10-15 minutes to walk another 1,000 steps a day reduces your risk of premature death by 11%.