Vigorous running may do more harm than good.
A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that light jogging is best for longevity.
Those who absolutely did not jog were just as likely to die as those who jogged strenuously and frequently, according to the study.
Researchers examined 5,048 healthy participants in the Copenhagen City Heart Study and asked about their activity. They identified 1,098 healthy joggers and 413 healthy but sedentary non-joggers and tracked them throughout a 12-year period.
They found that the it is best to jog no more than two to three times per week, and that individuals who jogged lightly – between one to 2.4 hours a week – were least likely to die suddenly.
“It is important to emphasize that the pace of the slow joggers corresponds to vigorous exercise and strenuous jogging corresponds to very vigorous exercise,” Peter Schnohr, MD, a researcher from the Copenhagen City Heart Study, Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, said in a news release. “When performed for decades, this activity level could pose health risks, especially to the cardiovascular system.”
Findings from this study parallel those of past results where researchers have found that more than moderate exercise may be more detrimental than beneficial.
“The U-shaped association between jogging and mortality suggests there may be an upper limit for exercise dosing that is optimal for health benefits,” Schnohr said. “If your goal is to decrease risk of death and improve life expectancy, jogging a few times a week at a moderate pace is a good strategy. Anything more is not just unnecessary, it may be harmful.”
(With reports from Agence France-Presse)
