About This Running Thing

Friday morning, this very helpful tidbit arrived in my inbox, courtesy FitBits:

Running Decreases Disability and Prolongs Life in Old Age

Although regular exercise is known to improve health and reduce disability, running in particular is known to produce frequent and chronic injuries. Nearly 60% of runners have to stop training at some point each year because of injury. Consequently, it was thought that runners, especially those who began to run during the running craze in the 1980s, would suffer more arthritis and may require joint replacement in greater numbers than their inactive or non-running exercise counterparts. Recent studies have indicated otherwise. Now there is more great news for runners…less disability and a longer life. [Emphasis is mine, Gentle Reader. --Ed.]

Researchers at Stanford University followed more than 500 runners for over 20 years starting in 1984. Participants completed annual questionnaires that enabled researchers to evaluate running and exercise frequency, BMI, and disability. More than half of the original runners and less than half of the controls completed the study, which ended in 2005. Date and cause of death were determined for those who did not live through 2005.

Baseline differences existed between runners and controls. For example, in 1984 the runners had a lower BMI, were more likely to be non-smokers and were younger than the control group. Runners ran approximately 4 hours weekly initially, but had reduced running to less than 3 hours by the end of the study. Disability scores were higher in the control group throughout and increased more significantly than in the running group. Moreover, the first inkling of disability in runners occurred 16 years later than in non-runners. After 19 years, less than half of the runners had died compared to controls, 15% and 34%, respectively.

The results indicate that older adults who run regularly can reduce disabilities, maintain a higher level of activity later in life, and reduce mortality.

Chakravarty, E.F., et al (2008) "Reduced disability and mortality among aging runners. A 21-year longitudinal study." Archives of Internal Medicine. 168(15):1638-1646.