RECENT NUTRITIONAL STUDY
Running just 5-10 minutes a day could
increase life expectancy
The Physical Activity Guidelines for
Americans recommend adults engage in
high-intensity exercise, such as running,
for a minimum of 75 minutes a week. But a
new study from Iowa State University
suggests that running at a slow speed for
just 5-10 minutes a day can significantly
reduce mortality risk, and running for any
longer may actually do more harm than
good. The research team, led by Duck-Chul
"D.C" Lee, an assistant professor of
kinesiology
at Iowa State, recently published their findings in the Journal of the American College of
Cardiology. For their study, Lee and colleagues assessed the data of 55,137 adults between the ages of 18
and 100 years, who were followed up for an average of 15 years.
Participants' physical activity habits were disclosed through a medical history questionnaire.
The team also analyzed the causes of any deaths that occurred during the follow-up, before looking at the
amount of exercise each individual participated in every week.
Running could add 3 years to life expectancy
During the follow-up period, 3,413 participants died from all-causes, while 1,217 died from cardiovascular
causes . Of these, 24 % participated in running on a weekly basis.
The team found that participants who engaged in running each week were 30% less likely to die from
all-causes and 45% less likely to die from cardiovascular causes, compared with those who did not
participate in running. Overall, runners were likely to live 3 years longer than non-runners.
But most interestingly, the researchers found that these reduced mortality risks were the same
among participants who ran less than an hour a week and those who ran more than 3 hours a week.
Even those who ran 5-10 minutes a day at a slow speed showed significantly reduced all-cause
and cardiovascular mortality risk, compared with non-runners, according to the team.
Lee says:
"Running is good for your health, but more may not be bet ѕȸ