Abstract | BACKGROUND: Official guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine state that every adult should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week. OBJECTIVE: To examine the dose-response relationship between coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors and vigorous exercise above the recommended minimum levels to assess whether further benefits accrue. METHODS: Physician-supplied medical data were compared with reported distance run in a national cross-sectional survey of 8283 male recreational runners. RESULTS: Compared with runners who ran less than 16 km (10 miles) per week, long-distance runners (> or = 80 km/wk) showed an 85% reduced prevalence of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels that were clinically low (< 0.9 mmol/ L [< 35 mg/dL]), a 2.5-fold increased prevalence of clinically defined high levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ie, > or = 1.55 mmol/L [> or = 60 mg/dL], the level thought to be protective against CHD), a nearly 50% reduction in hypertension, and more than a 50% reduction in the use of medications to lower blood pressure and plasma cholesterol levels. Estimated age-adjusted 10-year CHD risk was 30% lower in runners who averaged more than 64 km/wk than in those who averaged less than 16 km/wk (42 vs 61 events per 1000 men). Each 16-km incremental increase in weekly distance run up to 64 to 79 km/wk was associated with significant increases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and significant decreases in adiposity, triglyceride levels, the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, and estimated CHD risk. CONCLUSIONS: Our data (1) suggest that substantial health benefits occur at exercise levels that exceed current minimum guidelines and (2) do not exhibit a point of diminishing return to the health benefits of running at any distance less than 80 km/wk.
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Authors | P T Williams |
Journal | Archives of internal medicine
(Arch Intern Med)
Vol. 157
Issue 2
Pg. 191-8
(Jan 27 1997)
ISSN: 0003-9926 [Print] United States |
PMID | 9009976
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.)
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Chemical References |
- Blood Glucose
- Lipoproteins
- Uric Acid
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Topics |
- Adult
- Blood Glucose
(metabolism)
- Blood Pressure
- Body Mass Index
- Coronary Disease
(blood, ethnology, etiology, physiopathology)
- Ethnicity
(statistics & numerical data)
- Exercise
- Humans
- Lipoproteins
(blood)
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Regression Analysis
- Risk Factors
- Running
- Uric Acid
(blood)
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