Henry,
Thanks for posting this. I read a similar article at Fox News. Gives
more support and reasoning for our labor of love. I will send this on
to all of the non-runners that I know that think I am crazy for
running all those miles.
Thanks, Ron


--- In towpath_marathon@yahoogroups.com, "Henry" <Henry152@...> wrote:
>
> Found this interesting article I'm sure the list members would
enjoy.
> Run to Slow Aging Process By MedHeadlines
> <http://medheadlines.com/author/MedHeadlines/> • Aug 13th, 2008
> • Category: Elderly Care
> <http://medheadlines.com/category/elderly-care/> , Exercise
> <http://medheadlines.com/category/exercise/> , Headlines
> <http://medheadlines.com/category/headlines/> , Heart Disease
> <http://medheadlines.com/category/heart-disease/> , Lifestyle
> <http://medheadlines.com/category/lifestyle/>
> The Stanford University School of Medicine has released the results
of a
> long-term study that explores how a lifetime of running affects the
> aging process
> <http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/#> .
The
> multitude of benefits derived from running have surprised even the
> research team.
>
> In 1984, James Fries, MD, and his team of research colleagues
enlisted
> 538 runners, all older than 50, and a similar group of nonrunners.
Each
> year since then, the study participants have completed
questionnaires
> about their personal lives, including their ability to groom,
dress, and
> walk themselves as well as to their ease in getting up from a chair
and
> gripping various objects. Their running patterns have been
documented
> through the years as well.
>
> When the study began, the runners averaged about four hours of run
time
> each week. Twenty-one years into the study, run time has diminished
to
> only 76 minutes per average week but the runners were still reaping
the
> benefits of their active lifestyle nonetheless.
>
> After 19 years of study, only 15% of the runners had died, from any
> cause, compared to 34% of the group of nonrunners. As was expected,
the
> rate of death due to cardiovascular disease
> <http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/#>
was
> much lower in the group of runners but the running group also had
fewer
> deaths attributed to cancer
> <http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/#> ,
> infection, and neurological disease, among others.
>
> By the 21st year of the study, participants in both the running and
> nonrunning groups had started bearing signs of advanced age. They
are
> now all in their 70s and 80s. What has proven to be quite
remarkable is
> that the age of decline is dramatically later in the runners than
in the
> nonrunners.
>
> The onset of initial disability
> <http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/#>
> occurred 16 years later, on average, in the group of runners than
in the
> group not running. Even more surprising is that, as age advances,
the
> gap between the health
> <http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/#>
of the
> runners versus the health of the nonrunners widens, in effect
> compressing the ill effects of old age into the shortest amount of
time
> possible.
>
> Indeed, it was Fries' theory of "compression of morbidity"
> that led to the study in the 1980s. At that time, critics of the new
> running craze said the exercise
> <http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/#>
would
> lead to injuries of the knee and other joints that would cause
> osteoporosis
> <http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/#>
and
> other crippling disabilities as age advanced.
>
> Fries' thoughts were that a lifetime of regular exercise, such as
> running, would extend the runner's life while enhancing vitality and
> improving its quality at the same time. His extensive study has
proven
> his hypothesis correct.
>
> Fries is emeritus professor of medicine at Stanford's medical school
> and is the senior author of the paper describing his study of
running.
> The Archives of Internal Medicine
> <http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/#>
> carries the full details in its August 11 issue.
>
> The National Institute on Aging
> <http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/#>
and
> the National Institute of Arthritis
> <http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/#>
and
> Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases awarded grants for the Fries
study.
>
> Source: Stanford School of Medicine
>
> http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/
> <http://medheadlines.com/2008/08/13/run-to-slow-aging-process/>
>