The Runaway Jury

Running for An Hour Prolongs Life By Seven Hours

​Run baby Run, Add more years to life! This is what the latest study screams to people living in this world. This study shows that cardiovascular exercise such as running decreases the risk of death and prolongs life not just based on study results but after an exhaustive analysis of about every study on cardiovascular fitness and life-death ratios.

The same study group had previously analyzed more than 55,000 people between the ages of 18 and 100 years for a period of 15 years. The group acquired data on physical activity using medical history questionnaires and analyzed cause of death during follow-ups. The results showed that running was associated with a 45% decrease in death due to heart attack and strokes, and a 30% decrease in death due to other causes. This result was achieved after considering age, sex, weight and health issues such as diabetes, blood pressure, smoking and alcohol consumption, even when the runner could achieve lesser than 10 kms/hour or the individual ran for less than 10 minutes per day. This is highly possible as there are other studies that show that running reduces the chances of developing cancer, risk of cardiovascular disease and neurological disease (such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s). The reason for the latest analysis even after such a thorough analysis showing positive results on running is due to few unanswered yet important questions-is there a maximum duration above which running becomes fatal? Is running better than walking or cycling? The study group comprised mostly of young or middle-aged males, then what about the rest of the population?

From a Different Perspective
The above questions prompted the researchers to revisit their study and the research data available on other studies as well. This time, they found that running added three years of life to the lifetime of an individual. For every hour you run, you prolong your life by another seven hours. The benefits nullified after 4.5 hours of running a week and people who ran more than this did not live any longer, did not live any shorter nor were they affected by running for longer hours. It also gave answers to questions comparing running with other cardiovascular exercising proving it to offer better health benefits than cycling or walking.

Running is measured in METs (metabolic equivalents) like in a treadmill stress test and it was concluded that lower METs was linked to 16% of all deaths- a data pretty higher than deaths due to blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, obesity and high cholesterol. Two main points to be considered here include:

1. Sitting idle without taking care of your body is the ultimate way to put ourselves in a risky position to die. Simply staying inactive accounts for almost 9% of deaths worldwide which is the fourth leading cause of death after smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure. This study shows that running for as little as five minutes can have a positive impact on our body.
2. The researchers recommend physicians to measure fitness levels just like how body mass index and blood pressure levels are measured. This can be my means of self-reported questionnaires or using some equipment to measure fitness levels which will help to analyze the health status and fitness levels of any person.
   
   

Doctors still recommend people to go for a brisk walk instead of running as effects of running depends on the person taking up this exercise form. Overweight/obese individuals who directly start running without even losing 5-10% of body weight initially seem to apply more pressure on their knee which can cause bone or joint damage and even heart attacks. Before you start forming your daily exercise routine, please get in touch with registered dietitian nutritionists at www.firsteatright.com who can help you with your daily workout routines and plan healthy diet meals for your body type. Run this race of life, run for longevity and run for your good health!