The many benefits of exercise have been shown time and time again in research studies. There has been a concern raised however, that more is not necessarily better, and exercise beyond a certain point may not be more beneficial to health but even be harmful.
Consistent with past studies a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that relatively light to modest amounts of jogging is beneficial but beyond a certain number of miles per week no more benefit is seen.
Researchers studied greater than 5,000 healthy subjects and inquired about their physical activity. They counted 1,098 healthy joggers and tracked hours of jogging, frequency, and the individual’s judgement of the pace (strenuous vs. non-strenuous). They found that over the 12-year study period light joggers had the lowest death rates. The strenuous joggers were nearly as likely to die as sedentary non-joggers.
The study showed that 1 to 2.4 hours of jogging per week was associated with the lowest death rate and the most beneficial frequency of jogging was no more than three times per week.
Peter Schnohr, MD, DMSc, researcher from the Copenhagen City Heart Study, says that ” The association between jogging and mortality suggests there may be an upper limit for exercise dosing that is optimal for health benefits.” He cautions, “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.”
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