Does running provide a fast track to better health? Running is among the best-known forms of exercise, requires little equipment beyond a pair of running shoes and can be done almost anywhere, with no need to join a gym or take lessons from an expert.
But what are the proven health benefits of running? What does running do for your body, and what muscles does running work? Bottom Line Personal recently got the rundown on running from Ross Arena, PhD, PT, professor and head of the Department of Physical Therapy at University of Illinois Chicago.
What Does Running Do for Your Body?
Among the health benefits of running…
Improves heart health
Like other forms of aerobic exercise, running improves cardiovascular health. It can lower cholesterol and blood pressure and strengthen the heart muscle, among other positive cardiovascular consequences. This heart-health boost can be substantial—a large-scale 15-year study conducted at Cooper Clinic in Dallas and published in 2014 in Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that adult runners had 45% lower risk for cardiovascular mortality than non-runners, even after adjusting for differences in lifestyle, such as the runners’ lower rates of smoking and obesity.
Boosts mental health
Running can reduce depression and anxiety and improve overall mood states. There’s solid evidence to back this up—one recent study by researchers at Amsterdam University Medical Center found that running therapy offered mental health benefits comparable to those of antidepressant medications.
Benefits bone health
One study by researchers at the Czech Republic’s University of Ostrava found that middle-aged people who ran at least 10 kilometers per week (around 6.2 miles) have significantly better bone mineral density and content than non-runners. Bone strength tends to decline once we enter our 40s, so this benefit becomes increasingly important as we age. The recurring load that running puts on the bones of the lower body is the likely source of this benefit.
Provides a great workout for lower-body muscles
Running exercises all of the lower body’s major muscle groups, including the quads, calves, hamstrings and glutes. That matters even if you have no plans to run marathons—keeping lower-body muscles strong improves the odds that you will be able to maintain your balance, mobility and independence as you age.
Extends life span
Arguably the most meaningful health benefit linked to running is that it can increase longevity. How much? The Journal of the American College of Cardiology study cited above found that jogging regularly provides a three-year increase in life span. Other studies have found even greater longevity upside.
Also: Additional studies have suggested that running might reduce the risk for osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers including kidney cancer, as well as of the risk of dying from respiratory disease, becoming disabled and/or requiring hip replacement.
Walking vs. Running
If running offers all these health and longevity benefits, does that mean everyone should be running miles every week? Not necessarily.
While there’s strong evidence that running is great exercise…and we know that exercise is great for health and longevity…the research also points to a more surprising conclusion—people can reap a lot of the health benefits that running provides even without doing a lot of running.
When a team of researchers at Iowa State University, University of South Carolina and other institutions dug into the amount of running required to reap its health benefits, they discovered that people who run a modest amount and at a conservative pace—less than six miles per week…less than 51 minutes per week…at a rate of less than six miles per hour—receive essentially the same reduction in cardiovascular mortality and overall mortality as do runners who run much farther and faster.
In fact, many people probably are better off walking rather than running. The most beneficial physical-fitness–related improvement a person can make in his/her life isn’t forcing oneself through a lengthy or demanding daily exercise regimen—it is simply shifting from living a sedentary life with no physical activity to engaging in any physical activity.
Caution: If someone who has been living a largely sedentary life decides one day to go out for a long run, his/her lower body might not be ready for it—and the resulting aches, pains, strains or falls might put that person right back on the couch. That’s especially likely if he/she goes for a run while wearing inappropriate footwear, which is common when formerly sedentary people decide to try running.
Even worse, if this sedentary person has undiagnosed cardiovascular issues, engaging in high-intensity exercise such as running without first consulting a health-care provider could lead to a serious cardiovascular event. Low-intensity exercise like walking is a safer, more appropriate and surprisingly beneficial exercise option for people who are just starting to get back into shape.
Helpful: Whether you walk or run, there’s no need to push yourself to reach 10,000 steps per day. While that figure has become a popular fitness target, it is not rooted in any science—it was a marketing gimmick created by a Japanese pedometer company in the 1960s that has somehow caught on. Better target: A study by Harvard researchers suggests that there are longevity benefits to taking as many steps as possible up to around 7,500 steps per day, at which point the longevity benefits plateau.
Worth noting: Walking does not offer every one of the health benefits provided by running. Examples: Walking doesn’t offer the same aerobic benefits, because it doesn’t significantly increase heart rate…and walking doesn’t improve bone density to the same degree because it doesn’t put as much load on the bones of the lower body.
Still, walking is a great exercise entry point if your primary goal is overall health and longevity. Increase your walking pace only when your body feels ready to do so. When a rapid walking pace feels comfortable, try jogging short stretches at a comfortable pace. Slowly increase this jogging distance if your body responds well to your initial attempts.
Reminder: Some soreness in the leg muscles is to be expected after runs, but pain in lower-body joints—knees, hips or ankles—or in the lower back is not normal and should not be ignored. See a qualified health professional for guidance.
If your body doesn’t respond well to running, go back to walking or choose some other physical activity. Row, swim, dance, garden, use an elliptical machine—how you get your exercise is far less important than that you get some exercise. The best form of physical activity is whatever form of exercise you enjoy enough that you do it regularly.
Running is an effective way to burn calories—runners typically burn between 100 to 200 calories per mile, depending on factors including their size and running speed—and the core of weight loss is burning more calories than are consumed. Numerous studies have confirmed that there is a positive correlation between running and reducing one’s body mass index, even among runners who are genetically predisposed to obesity.
But there’s also no ignoring the fact that Americans who want to lose weight have for decades been advised to exercise more and eat less. Plenty of these would-be weight losers have laced up their sneakers and gone out for runs…yet the nation’s obesity epidemic continues to grow worse. At this point it’s reasonable to conclude that “exercise more and eat less” works better in theory than in practice.
An effective weight-loss plan should include not only eating less and exercising, but also the use of a modern weight-loss drug.
Moreover, there’s a case to be made that running might not be the best form of exercise for people in the early stages of weight-loss programs. If someone is carrying excess pounds and hasn’t exercised much, running could put more strain on their legs and feet than those limbs are ready to handle, resulting in injuries. It is often better to begin with lower-impact exercise, perhaps walking, swimming or using an elliptical machine. Running could become part of the weight-loss program a bit farther down the road.
