Run for your (long) life

“Researchers find that running can add three years to your life!” shout the headlines. And yes, a new study did find that cardiovascular exercise, including running, can decrease the risk of death, and potentially prolong life. But there’s more: the authors not only include analyses of piles of data, but also an exhaustive review of just about every other study of cardiovascular fitness and mortality out there. They cite (and discuss) almost 70 reference articles! By popular demand… Their newest study came about due to demand. The authors had previously published data from over 55,000 people followed for over 15 years, and found that running was associated with a 45% reduced risk of death from heart attacks and strokes, as well as a 30% reduced risk of death from anything. This benefit was seen even with as little as five to 10 minutes a day of running, even at paces as slow as six miles per hour, and after accounting for age, sex, weight, and other health risk variables (like high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol consumption). These findings made sense, as other studies had found that in addition to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, running also lowered the chances of developing cancer and neurologic diseases (such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s). But there were questions: People demanded to know, was there any such thing as too much running? The original data set consisted of mostly college-educated, middle-class adult males. What about...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Exercise and Fitness Health Healthy Aging Heart Health Prevention Source Type: blogs