Going The Extra Mile

Exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Obvious benefits of going to the gym or running around the block have been known for quite some time, and fortunately for all the workout-aholics of the world, the list just keeps on growing. According to a study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, recent findings show that vigorous exercise may also help prevent vision loss.
The study has been a long time coming, as it tracked 41,000 runners for over seven years. This research is the first to suggest such a correlation between exercise and the reduced risk of both cataracts and macular degeneration in association to age. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the U.S. and macular degeneration impairs vision in almost a third of the elderly population. The National Runners’ Health Study showed that the occurrence of these diseases could be greatly reduced with vigorous exercise, as men running 5.7 miles a day had more than a one third lower risk of developing cataracts than those who ran less than 1.4 miles a day. Runners who ran ten kilometer races showed half of the risk compared to the least fit men of the study. Similar associations were found for age related macular degeneration. Paul Williams felt that the findings were “compelling because of the large size of the study, and the fact that we are looking at something that is fairly well defined: vigorous exercise, as opposed to more moderate exercise." I find this information rather stimulating as I have always been one to push the envelope when it comes to working out. Many studies simply state that the 30-45 minute exercise a day is all you really need, and I have always found it hard to even break a sweat in such a short time frame. This article shows convincing evidence that simple, moderate exercise doesn’t give you all of the benefits, giving incentive to do that extra rep and push for that extra mile.


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/138657.php


Blake Cannon