Running too hard and too often may be as bad for your health as sitting at home, according to a new report.
Scientists monitored 1,098 healthy joggers and 413 healthy but sedentary non-joggers over a period of 12 years for a cohort study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The study tracked the number hours of jogging of each participants, as well as the frequency of their runs, and their personal perception of their pace.
The researchers found that participants that jogged at a steady pace of around 5mph for between one and two and a half hours spread between three runs over the period of a week had the lowest rates of death.
By contrast, those that were sedentary of that jogged more than three times per week at a pace of more than 7mph had the highest rates of death.
Researcher Peter Schnohr from the Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen said:
“It is important to emphasize that the pace of the slow joggers corresponds to vigorous exercise and strenuous jogging corresponds to very vigorous exercise. When performed for decades, this activity level could pose health risks, especially to the cardiovascular system.”
He continued:
“The U-shaped association between jogging and mortality suggests there may be an upper limit for exercise dosing that is optimal for health benefits.
“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.”
The findings align in part with the current UK physical activity guidelines for adults which include at least two and a half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as cycling or fast walking every week.
