November 11, 2002 Reuters Health, reports on a study
published in the November 11th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine
that shows that running and other aerobic exercise seem to help older people
stave off disability and live longer. Dr. Benjamin W. E. Wang, from the
University of Tennessee in Memphis and author of the study states, "In
elderly people, the development of disability can be delayed, or pushed
back, with aerobic exercise, including running." He goes on to say, "In
addition, those who exercised regularly lived longer and had lower rates of
fatal cancers, heart disease and other conditions."
The study was performed on 370 members of a running club
and 249 people who did not belong to a running club. All of the subjects
were at least 50 years of age. Each year the subjects were asked to
complete a questionnaire that assessed the presence and severity of
disability in several activities of daily living. The research showed that
running club members were significantly less likely to develop a disability
than those who were not running club members. Additionally, when running
club members did develop a disability, the onset was usually delayed. On
average, disabilities developed in running club members nearly 9 years later
than in non-members.
The news was even more impacting when researchers looked
at the death rates. In addition to postponing disability, running and
physical exercise showed a higher survival rate, according to the report.
Running club members were less likely to die during the study period than
people who participated in other aerobic activities. The study showed that
non-club members were 3.3 times more likely to die during the study period,
not just from diseases clearly linked to lifestyle, such as heart disease,
but from all types of illnesses. According to Dr. Wang, the benefits of
running and other aerobic exercise "appeared even in those who began
exercising in mid-life."