August 14, 2008 – Those who regularly jog throughout their lives would have fewer physical disabilities of all kinds and significantly reduce their risk of dying prematurely, compared to sedentary people.
This is what researchers conclude1 from Stanford University School of Medicine, California, after 20 years of monitoring nearly 440 people aged 50 and over.
Of the group, 284 were members of a running club and engaged in vigorous exercise, including jogging, for at least three hours per week. The other 156 people formed the control group and engaged in such exercises for about 20 minutes per week.
The participants all came from a comparable social background (Stanford University employees) and were in good health at the start of the study. There was one notable difference between the two groups, however: from the start, those who regularly jogged generally had fewer mild physical disabilities than those who were more sedentary.
Rejuvenate 16 years!
The results of the study indicate that, throughout the follow-up period, the active subjects suffered significantly less physical disabilities than those in the control group. The authors report that, in frequent runners, the onset of symptoms of mild to moderate physical disability occurred 16 years later than in those with a more sedentary lifestyle.
In addition, runners had half the risk of dying prematurely: 19 years after the start of the study, 15% of them had died, compared to 34% of sedentary people. They were also less likely to have cancer or neurological disorders, compared to participants in the control group.
All participants generally slowed down the rate of vigorous physical activity as they got older, but runners remained relatively active into old age – 90 and over in some cases.
See theopinion of our blogger Christian Lamontagne about this news.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
1. Chakravarty EF, Hubert HB, et al.Reduced disability and mortality among aging runners: a 21-year longitudinal study. Arch Intern Med, August 11, 2008, Vol. 168, no.15, 1638-46.
2. Chakravarty EF, Hubert HB, et al. Long distance running and knee osteoarthritis a prospective study. Am J Prev Med, August 2008, Vol. 35, no 2, 133-8.
