exercise

Walk or Run? Think Distance, Not Speed

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Researchers evaluated 33,060 runners in the National Runners’ Health Study and 15,045 walkers in the National Walkers’ Health Study. Dr. Thompson said there will be more results coming from the data. The study found:

  • Running reduced the risk for first-time hypertension 4.2%, and walking reduced it by 7.2%.
  • Running cut the risk for first-time high cholesterol 4.3%, and walking reduced it by 7.0%.
  • Running cut the risk for first-time diabetes 12.1%, and walking decreased it by 12.3%.
  • Running reduced coronary heart disease 4.5% compared with 9.3% for walking.

via Walk or run? Think distance, not speed, for health benefits – amednews.com.

GREAT NEWS for this aging tortoise who no longer runs 10-k’s due to bilateral knee osteoarthritis.

Is Running Bad for Your Heart? – NewsOK.com

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

A study published in the December issue of the British medical journal Heart looked at 52,600 people over three decades, and it found that those who ran more than 20 to 25 miles per week lived no longer than those who didn’t exercise at all. Another recent study also found that people who ran faster than 7 minutes and 30 seconds per mile when they exercised enjoyed no mortality advantage over couch potatoes. But in both studies, people who ran regularly, but at shorter distances and slower paces, lived longest.

via Is running bad for your heart? | NewsOK.com.

Yet another study that adds to the conflicting data we already have.  For the record, I no longer run for exercise.  But my excuse is OA.

Statin-Exercise Combo Lowers Mortality Risk

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Patients who took statins and were physically fit had as much as a 70% reduction in the risk of dying during the follow-up period as compared with the least physically fit patients who were taking statins, according to Peter Kokkinos, PhD, of George Washington University in Washington, and colleagues.

Physical fitness also had an independent effect on mortality risk among patients who were not taking statins, reducing the likelihood of death during follow-up by as much as 47%, they reported online in The Lancet.

via Statin-Exercise Combo Lowers Mortality Risk.

I really need to get the gym more often.

Stay Active Stay Healthy

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Arch Intern Med — Abstract: Physical Activity at Midlife in Relation to Successful Survival in Women at Age 70 Years or Older, January 25, 2010, Sun et al. 170 (2): 194

Methods – A total of 13 535 Nurses’ Health Study participants who were free of major chronic diseases at baseline in 1986 and had survived to age 70 years or older as of the 1995-2001 period made up the study population. We defined successful survival as no history of 10 major chronic diseases or coronary artery bypass graft surgery and no cognitive impairment, physical impairment, or mental health limitations.

Conclusion – These data provide evidence that higher levels of midlife physical activity are associated with exceptional health status among women who survive to older ages and corroborate the potential role of physical activity in improving overall health.