Running when older massively reduces the risk of serious diseases
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A study has found running regularly can slow the effects of ageing
The study by US researchers found elderly joggers were half as likely to die prematurely from diseases such as cancer than non-runners.
They were also healthier with fewer disabilities. The research followed 500 older runners for more than 20 years, comparing them with a similar group of non-runners. All were in their 50s at the start of the study.
Nineteen years into the study, 34 per cent of the non-runners had died compared to only 15 per cent of the runners.
Both groups suffered more disabilities with age, but for the runners the onset of disability started an average of 16 years later.
The gap in health between the two groups continued to widen, even as the subjects entered their 90s. ¬¬
Running seemed to slow the rate of heart and artery related deaths, and was linked to fewer early deaths from cancer, neurological disease, infections and other conditions.
There was no evidence that runners were more likely to suffer osteoarthritis or need knee replacements than non-runners ¬– something scientists have feared.
Lead author Professor James Fries, Emeritus professor of medicine at Stanford said, ‘The study has a very pro-exercise message. If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise. The health benefits are greater than we thought’.
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