Surprisingly Little Running Extends Lifespan;
By: Farhan Ajmal
Running six miles per week appears to improve
longevity by three to six years and reduces the risk of several chronic
diseases, according to a review of research published
in Mayo Clinic
Proceedings.
A distinguished group of U.S.-based
cardiologists, exercise physiologists, and epidemiologists collaborated on the
review. It contains no new material or research, but summarizes results of the
best, large-scale studies on runners. All of the studies included at least 500
runners and at least five years of follow-up.
Most of the paper’s conclusions are
unsurprising. Running improves weight management, blood pressure, and glucose
control, and lowers the risk of some cancers, respiratory
disease, stroke, benign pro-static hypertrophy, and cardiovascular and all-cause
mortality.
Likewise, a continuing Stanford University
study of longtime runners has shown that the older the runners get, the greater
their advantage compared to non-runners of the same age on a disability index
of common life activities. In other words, running doesn’t cripple the musculo-skeletal
system, but makes it more robust.
It takes little running per week to reach the
optimal benefit for improved longevity. The authors pin the numbers at about
six miles per week, or about 52 minutes of running, achieved in just one or two
workouts per week. This amount of running is associated with a lifespan three
to six years longer than that of non-runners.
Higher mileage provides no more longevity
benefit, according to the research summary. In fact, running more than 20 miles
a week may erase some of the gain. The low-dose runners had lower levels of
fitness than higher-dose runners but appeared to get maximal protection against
cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.
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