Tuesday, January 05, 2010

The Hidden Benefits of Exercise (WSJ)

Laura Landro at the Wall Street Journal ran a HUGE article on the hidden benefits of exercise in the Personal Journal section. Some of the more interesting stats include:

* People who exercise regularly heal from colds 20-30% faster.


* People who walked briskly for 45 minutes, 5 days a week for 12-15 weeks reduced their number of sick days by 25-50%. 


* 36% of US adults didn't engage in ANY leisure activities in 2008. Can this be true?


*  Exercise can lower the risk of stroke by 27%, diabetes by 50%, high-blood pressure by 40%, risk of recurring breast cancer by 50%, colon cancer by 60%, Alzheimer's disease by 40%, etc., etc.


* Physical activity reduces erosion of telomeres, which essentially is an anti-aging effect at the cellular level.



The list goes on and on. There is also a great article about Dr. Paul Williams and his effort to dramatically increase the recommended exercise standards, and the push back received from the health community about saying such an increase will basically discourage existing couch potatoes to begin. Classic.

Definitely worth a read.

- SD

9 comments:

  1. great article. I have been part of that Runner's World study for many years...interesting to see effects of exercise

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  2. Hmm, and last week the WSJ ran a big article on the health benefits of coffee. I feel like they're taking a little peek into my lifestyle and giving me the big thumbs up. Sweet!

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  3. Gretchen -

    Isn't that the truth?

    Hey, did you know that long distance running produces the same chemical (anandamide) that is found in THC, chocolate, and red wine? It's like they read my high school yearbook entries or something.

    SD

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  4. Thank you for that! I just may give it a try, and great info from WSJ!

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  5. Thanks for the info - Good stuff.
    Keep it coming!

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  6. Exercise is great way to keep the doctor away.

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  7. Hey Scott, pleasure meeting you yesterday at the NYRR Thursday Night at the Races. Did you end up running the 800m also?

    PS I was the guy asking all the questions about the ultramarathons before our mile race.

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  8. Great to meet you too! Thanks for the tips. I'm working on the blog post right now.

    I had to hustle out, so I didn't run the 800 or 2-mile. Not that my lungs could have survived another round anyway.

    You running tomorrow? Good luck!

    Sd

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    ReplyDelete

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