DO RUNNERS LIVE LONGER?
You’ve heard about all the studies that point to regular exercise as the best way to help prevent many of the major conditions—strokes, diabetes, some cancers, osteoporosis, even dementia—that most expect to come along with aging. But in the past few years researchers are finding that one exercise—running—can actually add years to your life.
I love to run—actually to jog is more accurate. Usually I’m getting ready for a half marathon or a triathlon. I ran in the Carlsbad Half Marathon way back in January little knowing that would be my only event this year—everything else cancelled due to Covid-19. But I still jog twice a week, 4 miles on one day and 10 miles on the other. Now knowing that it might prolong my life, makes it sweeter.
Running Statistics
Here are some statistics I found in a Harvard article by Monique Tello, MD, MPH titled Run for your (long) life:
“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).
Running just about any amount increased people’s lives by about three years; put another way, running for an hour provided seven hours of life benefit. This benefit topped off at about 4.5 hours of running per week, so the people who ran more than that didn’t live any longer. They didn’t live any shorter, either: there was no risk associated with running longer or farther.”
I also found an online article in the April 12, 2019 Cleveland Clinic Daily Health Stories titled Research: Runners Live Longer. Here are excerpts:
Running is one of the most common forms of exercise—from casual jogging to ultra-marathoners—runners are everywhere. But can running actually help us live longer? According to research, the answer is ‘yes.’
Dr. Donald Ford
Cleveland Clinic’s Donald Ford, M.D., MBA, said running is good for our longevity because it exercises the heart muscle. “It’s the aerobic exercise that exercises the heart muscle,” he said. “Just like doing barbells is going to exercise your arm muscle—it’s the same thing—and exercising the heart muscle is what seems to keep us around longer.”
[In addition to the study cited above], another study looked at runners over the age of 50 and found that people who ran during middle and older ages had reduced disability later in life and actually lived longer than their non-running peers.Dr. Ford said it’s no secret exercise is good for our overall health, but the research shows running, especially is beneficial for the health of our hearts, joints, and our bodies in general.
Benefits of Running
Dr. Ford said we don’t have to be marathon runners to see the benefits of running, and that any amount of aerobic exercise is better for our health and longevity than none at all. But like any exercise, he said it’s important to take it slow if you’re just starting out.
“You have to be very careful as you approach this—whether you’re a young person, or an old person—to make sure that you’re protecting yourself; you’re protecting yourself against injury’ you’re warming up correctly and you’re doing this in an appropriate fashion,” said Dr. Ford.