Sure, running is healthy, but don’t go too fast because you could die. Well at least that is what this article by The Telegraph suggests. The eye-catching article title is “Fast running is as deadly as sitting on couch, scientists find” because if you end an article title with scientists find then it is 100% accurate.
This article begins by letting the reader know that running faster than 7 miles per hour is damaging and is actually doing more harm than good when it comes to heart and overall health benefits. They then cite the research article and mention that runners that ran the fastest were nine times more likely to die prematurely within 12 years, while those who were the tortoise in this tortoise and hare analogy, were not.
So what is the truth? Well, The Telegraph had it half right. The Copenhagen City Heart Study was a prospective study that was composed of random sample of 19,329 white men and women between 20 to 93 years old, which was narrowed down to 1,098 joggers and 413 healthy non-joggers. With analysis of all-cause mortality and adjusting for age and sex, the researchers found that jogging quantity and frequency were all associated with low mortality. In addition to that, all joggers had lower blood pressure and BMI, lower prevalence of smoking, and lower incidence of type 2 diabetes, which is great news for runners.
However, that’s not the end of the story. When looking at low, moderate, and strenuous joggers, there was a U-shaped association between jogging and mortality and interestingly enough, the fast-paced joggers’ mortality was not statistically different from that of the sedentary non-joggers. What the popular media article failed to mention was that the researchers believe that there could be an upper limit for exercise where the health benefits are no longer effective. The researchers go on to explain that further research needs to be done to test this hypothesis before making any recommendations. Hmm… seems like The Telegraph did not get that memo.
Anyone working in the health field needs to be mindful of these types of articles because while they can contain some interesting information, they can also be greatly exaggerated, thus losing its overall message. This particular study has some great information that health practitioners can utilize. Exercise might have an upper limit, and that is worth investigating. However, for right now, I believe most of the people we will be interacting with will not be included in the strenuous exercising group. It is something we should be aware of, but I am not sure how much clinical application it will have. Overall, we can conclude that (1) 7 miles per hour is not a magical cutoff point, (2) jogging has some great benefits and (3) we should not try to scare people away getting exercise.
- Knapton, Sarah. “Fast running is as deadly as sitting on couch, scientists find.” The Telegraph. Published 2 Feb 2015.
- Schnohr, Peter, et al. “Dose of jogging and long-term mortality: the Copenhagen City Heart Study.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology 65.5 (2015): 411-419.
This is definitely one of those articles that catches the attention of an audience that is just looking for an excuse not to exercise. Like you mentioned, practitioners are often not going to be working with individuals that are working out to the extremes, but rather the group of couch potatoes. Individuals that are not active and knowledgable of exercising may not even understand just how fast 7mph is, so it is important for practitioners to provide them with a better understanding of what they need to do to get active. “Fast” can also be defined differently for everyone, so if individuals are given this information from a practitioner they may be less likely to believe misleading articles such as this one.
Wow, I’m so glad that my slower pace of 6 mph is protecting me from an increased mortality. While, running has its downsides (joint damage, actual bone fractures, collagen breakdown, spontaneous heart attacks) I would think that for most people the benefits would outweigh the risks. Additionally, was there any investigation in this study as to why they saw higher mortality in 12 years in joggers? Were these people being hit by cars whilst going for a faster-than-leisurely jog? Were they just more likely to be hurt doing active things, like rock climbing or any other adrenaline seeking hobby? With an age range that large, these people could have died from anything.
I think I’ll keep jogging, thank you very much.
This reminds me of an article I read where it claimed that the popular notion “working out while angry or highly emotional is good for stress release” was actually a lie and that it could lead to serious consequences such as a heart attack. The study however revealed that they didn’t find any significant results among individuals who exercised while angry or under great emotional distress and the risk of a heart attack. What the study found is that elevated markers for what could cause a heart attack were slightly higher than on average but then the body would eventually go back to its normal state, biologically.
I find it very surprising how authors of some articles can take information and present it in a way that suits them at the expense of the audience. Do you think there is or should be a law against popular news articles from distorting the results of a study? I feel like at some point there should be a limit.
Also in your opinion, do you believe there is an upper limit for exercise? It would be great to have a follow-up on any studies that are investigation this question. I feel like this could help those who are having a hard time trying to be active because perceived high expectation. Maybe if there is a set target (upper limit) then it could be easier for people to work towards. I think it would reduced perceived difficulty of getting physically active and healthy. But that’s just my opinion.
It’s articles like these that cause the general public to make awful life health decisions because they believe everything they read/hear 100% without asking any questions. It’s unfortunate that these are even put in front of the public eye! As a healthcare professional it is extremely unsettling to me that someone is suggesting (with lack of evidence and detail) that exercise is bad for you. Our society as a majority is not nearly as physically active as they should be and unfortunately some of those same people will read this article and never exercise because of the “health risks.” I think it is more important than ever for us as health professionals to debunk articles like this so that people can make informed health choices.