Running from old age
According to the results obtained by Stanford University scientists working under the guidance of Professor James Fries, who have been observing more than 500 elderly runners for more than 20 years, regular running slows down the aging process. Older runners are more able-bodied, have a longer active life span and are twice as likely as non-training old people to die prematurely.
The authors began their work in 1984, when many experts were of the opinion that active physical activity brings older people more harm than good. Some believed that running, which was then at the height of fashion, would lead to an increase in the frequency of orthopedic injuries, as a result of which many elderly runners would acquire irreversible lameness. Fries adhered to the opposite hypothesis, according to which regular exercise prolongs the duration of a period of high quality of life and working capacity. He assumed that constant movement does not necessarily increase life expectancy, but shortens the period during which people cannot independently perform everyday tasks. This idea is known as the "theory of shortening the period of soreness."
The authors began monitoring 538 runners over the age of 50, comparing them with a group of people who are not keen on running. Participants who have already passed the seventh, and some even the eighth decade, at the beginning of the study filled out questionnaires concerning their ability to perform everyday tasks, such as walking, dressing and personal hygiene, getting up from a chair and holding various objects in their hand. After 19 years, according to the national official death databases, it turned out that by that time 34% of non-runners had died, while for runners this figure was only 15%.
At the beginning of the study, runners spent an average of about 4 hours a week running. For 21 years, this figure has decreased to 76 minutes, but running still continued to benefit.
In general, over 21 years, the ability to work of participants in both groups worsened, but runners began to feel it about 16 years later. Running not only delayed the onset of the period of disability, but also increased the gap between the physical capabilities of the participants of the two groups. This gap continues to widen even now, when some of the participants are already over eighty.
Perhaps this effect is due to the greater muscular component of the runners' body and their generally healthier lifestyle. The authors emphasize the evidence that this effect cannot continue indefinitely and at the end of the work they will have data on 100% mortality of participants in both groups.
However, to date, the benefits of running for prolonging life and active longevity exceed all the authors' expectations. It is not surprising that running postpones death from cardiovascular diseases, but it is also associated with fewer early deaths from cancer, neurological diseases, infections and other causes.
Moreover, forecasts according to which running will cause a lot of joint damage have not been justified. The authors found that running is not associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis in the elderly and with an increased need for total knee replacement.
The 69-year-old Friz himself is a committed runner, mountaineer and lover of outdoor sports events.
Article by Eliza F. Chakravarty et al. "Reduced Disability and Mortality Among Aging Runners: A 21-Year Longitudinal Study" is published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on ScienceDaily – Running Slows The Aging Clock, Researchers Find01.10.2008