2024-08-05 13:31:42
The analysis, published in May, included public health data on the first 200 people who ran a mile (1.6 km) in under 4 minutes in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. According to a team of Canadian and Australian researchers, these professional runners lived an average of almost five years longer than the general population.
These results contradict the notion that excessive physical exertion has long-term negative health effects. Pushing the human body to the max can actually be beneficial, at least for some people.
Although many research showsthat physically active people live longer than inactive people, it is not yet clear whether exercising more than recommended is beneficial or harmful to health.
Some scientists believethat the lifestyle of high-intensity athletes participating in marathons or triathlons can put too much strain on the heart, putting them at greater risk of premature death.
However, in 2022 conducted by Harvard University determined during the investigation, that people who exercise more than recommended can 30 percent. reduce the risk of death – 10 percent more than those who simply follow the activity recommendations.
In addition, Tour de France cyclists, Olympic athletes and rowers studies have shown longer life expectancy of athletes compared to the general population.
Now scientists have shown that this pattern also applies to the fastest mile runners.
Athletes who run a mile in less than 4 minutes are a unique population known for peaking their respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic and muscular systems. To achieve this speed, runners regularly engage in high-intensity physical activity throughout the week.
2018 m. cardiologists foundthat the first 20 runners to run a mile in less than 4 minutes lived an average of 12 years longer than the average life expectancy.
The new study looks at a larger group of athletes over a three-decade period.
“Although we were unable to determine the cause of death in most runners, studies examining cohorts of Tour de France cyclists and Olympians (which include middle- and long-distance runners) suggest that the longevity effect is primarily due to reduced mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer,” – Stephen Foulkes, a cardiologist at the University of Alberta (Canada), and his colleagues write in the new study.
The team adds that the results of their analysis “reaffirm the longevity benefits of physical activity, even at the training levels required for elite performance.”
The study is published žurnale „British Journal of Sports Medicine“.
Parengta pagal „Science Alert“.
2024-08-05 13:31:42