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Running a lot doesn't kill you after all

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davemunger
davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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Remember that study from a year or two back which supposedly showed that running more than 20 miles a week was hazardous to your health? It was actually just an un-peer-reviewed conference presentation. Now that it has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, that conclusion has been drastically changed, and there is no evidence that running a lot increases your risk of mortality.
With the actual data, this phantom increase in risk disappears. That's exactly why the original presentation of the data (which, as a conference abstract, was not peer-reviewed) was so problematic.

Now, there are still some very interesting insights to glean from this paper. For most of their analyses, they find that the health benefits from running just a little (i.e. ~5 miles a week) are essentially equivalent to the health benefits of running a lot. This stands in contrast to findings from other studies like Paul Williams's National Runners' Health Study, so further research will be needed to understand what factors differ between the two study groups. But it certainly strengthens the view that even very small doses of vigorous exercise have big health benefits, and that you don't need to train like a marathoner to max out the benefits of aerobic exercise. I think that's a great message – but it's very different from the original message sounded by the authors, which was that running more than 20 miles per week "may speed one's progress toward the finish line of life."

http://www.runnersworld.com/health/running-mortality-and-statistics

Replies

  • ZenInTexas
    ZenInTexas Posts: 781 Member
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    *like*
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    /me feigns shock
  • prdavies1949
    prdavies1949 Posts: 326 Member
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    OK lets see if I got this right. If I run a little say 5 miles I get Huge fitness benefits. any more doesn't do me any harm but I don't gain anymore benefit health wise. Sooo I'll run the 5 miles on Monday for health reasons. Then i'll run the rest of the week just for the hell of it.:happy:
  • RunFarLiveHappy
    RunFarLiveHappy Posts: 805 Member
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    I guess that's why weren't not all dead yet! Sweet! I like being alive ????????
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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    OK lets see if I got this right. If I run a little say 5 miles I get Huge fitness benefits. any more doesn't do me any harm but I don't gain anymore benefit health wise. Sooo I'll run the 5 miles on Monday for health reasons. Then i'll run the rest of the week just for the hell of it.:happy:

    ...and so I can eat more!
  • NorthCountryDreamer
    NorthCountryDreamer Posts: 115 Member
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    If this were true I would have been dead from running years ago.
  • saskie78
    saskie78 Posts: 237 Member
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    It will be only a short time until the next study comes out saying running kills you (followed by one that says running a 200 mile ultra is better than running a 100 mile ultra). I will continue to tell my very worried family that too much gin is also bad for me, but it's fun so I drink it anyway!
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    OK lets see if I got this right. If I run a little say 5 miles I get Huge fitness benefits. any more doesn't do me any harm but I don't gain anymore benefit health wise. Sooo I'll run the 5 miles on Monday for health reasons. Then i'll run the rest of the week just for the hell of it.:happy:

    ^^^I endorse this message!
  • Kelven23
    Kelven23 Posts: 51
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    I am pretty sure there is a study that shows everything is bad for you.
  • _Josee_
    _Josee_ Posts: 625 Member
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    OK lets see if I got this right. If I run a little say 5 miles I get Huge fitness benefits. any more doesn't do me any harm but I don't gain anymore benefit health wise. Sooo I'll run the 5 miles on Monday for health reasons. Then i'll run the rest of the week just for the hell of it.:happy:

    ...and so I can eat more!

    hahaha you and me both!
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    OK lets see if I got this right. If I run a little say 5 miles I get Huge fitness benefits. any more doesn't do me any harm but I don't gain anymore benefit health wise. Sooo I'll run the 5 miles on Monday for health reasons. Then i'll run the rest of the week just for the hell of it.:happy:

    ...and so I can eat more!

    hahaha you and me both!

    timbits for everyone!
  • LoriLoves2Run
    LoriLoves2Run Posts: 80
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    I'm curious as to whom the writer of the original story was. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that person does not run more than 20 miles per week. I bet he's embarrassed right about now. Oops. The rule in life, moderation. It's all relative.
  • DymonNdaRgh40
    DymonNdaRgh40 Posts: 661 Member
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    Good to know since I still run.... a lot.

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