Running Lowers Risk of Death From Cardiovascular Diseases

Running, one of the popular forms of physical activity, can drastically lower the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases.

Running is considered to be the best exercise to boost overall health. This vigorous cardiovascular exercise helps to burn an average of 100 calories per mile. The health benefits of running include building strong bone, reducing cancer risk, improving cardiovascular fitness among others.

The new study, led by researchers at the Iowa State University, shows that running for only a few minutes a day or at slow speeds may dramatically lower a person's risk of death from cardiovascular diseases as compared to those who do not run.

It is a well-documented fact that exercise keeps heart diseases at bay and is a key component for overall healthy life. But, it is not known whether there are any health benefits of less than 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity activity like running, which is recommended by the U.S. Government and World Health Organization.

To determine this, a study was conducted on 55,137 adults aged between 18-100 years, over a 15-year period, to determine whether any association exists between running and longevity.

They worked on the data retrieved from the Aerobic Center Longitudinal Study, where the participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about their running habits.

They noticed that those who ran for less than 6 miles in less than 51 minutes and slower than 6 miles per hour or just one to two times per week had a reduced risk of dying as compared to those who did not run. Runners who ran less than an hour per week received the same mortality benefits as those who ran three hours week.

On observing the running behavior pattern they found that the runners who ran for six years on an average had the most significant health benefits. On the whole, during the study period, there were 3,413 deaths in which 1, 217 died of cardiovascular-related disease and 24 percent of participants considered running as a leisure time exercise. Runners had a 30 percent reduced risk of dying from all causes and a 45 percent lower risk of death from heart disease or stroke.

Apart from this, the runners on an average had an extended life span of three years. Due to these health benefits, the researchers insist that running should also be promoted and is as important as preventing smoking, obesity or hypertension.

"Running may be a better exercise option than more moderate intensity exercises for healthy but sedentary people since it produces similar, if not greater, mortality benefits in five to 10 minutes compared to the 15 to 20 minutes per day of moderate intensity activity that many find too time consuming," said DC (Duck-chul) Lee, Ph.D., lead author of the study.

The study was documented in the journal of the American College of Cardiology.