Here’s another reason to lace up your sneakers and go for a run: It may make you live longer, that is, if you don’t overdo it.
New research suggests that runners appear to live longer, but as with most things, there is a tipping point. Health reported on two different studies that analyzed the links between running and cardiovascular-related health problems and death, and the results may surprise you.
In the first study, researchers from the University of South Carolina analyzed the link between running and cardiovascular-related deaths in nearly 53,000 adults between the ages of 20 and 100. All participants had undergone a medical exam between 1971 and 2003, and were all free of heart disease, cancer and diabetes at the start of the study.
After filling out questionnaires regarding their leisure-time activities, researchers found that 27 percent of participants said they ran. Using data from the National Death Index, researchers found that the runners had a 20 percent lower mortality rate than non-runners.
However, running only lowered the risk for mortality when a person did not exceed more than 20 miles a week, log more than five to seven miles per hour, or run more than two to five times a week, the authors reported.
“Although higher doses [of running] are not associated with worse outcomes when compared with non-runners, those with higher doses of distance, frequency and speed seemed to lose the survival advantage gained at lower doses of running,” said lead researcher Dr. Chip Lavie, medical director of cardiac rehabilitation and prevention at John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute, in New Orleans.
But another study, published in the June issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, found different results when it came to higher does of running. The study reviewed the scientific literature on the effect of extreme endurance training, (marathoners, triathletes, professional cyclists), and found that it can, in fact, lead to long-term heart damage.
“There’s probably nothing better a person can do for themselves for their long-term health than daily exercise,” said Dr. James O’Keefe, lead author of the second study and a professor of medicine at the University of Missouri and Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. “But if you train more than the cardiovascular system is designed to handle, you can tax your heart and do damage. Even though they[marathoners] go back to normal within a week, over months and years, the elevations may lead to heart damage and increased susceptibility to certain types of arrhythmias.”
According to Health, the researchers also reported that ultra-marathon running and professional cycling have also been linked with as much as a fivefold hike in atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm.
Bottom line: Don’t go too extreme too often. If marathons are your thing, go for it, but don’t go overboard. Just imagine if something happened and you couldn’t run at all anymore. Stick to a couple marathons a year, and avoid overtraining at all costs. And always, ALWAYS, get annual check-ups with your doctor.
