Re: Daily Exercise Dramatically Lowers Men's Death Rates

[Guest guest]

Hi Bill:

Unless I misunderstood the body of your post, the subject line you

chose is quite inaccurate. Based on what your post says they did

not even try to ascertain the effects of daily exercise. (Although

they say they recommend it).

They measured exercise capacity. And related that to mortality.

Now I have a question about the validity of what they did. Did they

take special care to make absolutely sure that the real conclusion

should not be that:

SICK PEOPLE DIE SOONER, AND SICK PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE THE STRENGTH OR

ENDURANCE THAT WOULD BE REFLECTED IN MEASURED EXERCISE CAPACITY?

My bet, based solely on the contents of your post, is that the sick

members of their study had less exercise capacity BECAUSE they were

sick. And they died sooner because they were already sick.

If yer arteries are 85% clogged you may not have any obvious

symptoms yet, but you will not have great exercise capacity. Nor

will you live as long as the person with clean arteries who will

have substantially greater exercise capacity, since blood can

circulate nutrients freely.

Perhaps they did control carefully for this factor. Did they?

Rodney.

>

> Daily Exercise Dramatically Lowers Men's Death Rates

>

> ScienceDaily (Jan. 23, 2008) — Increased exercise capacity reduces

the

> risk of death in African-American and Caucasian men, researchers

> reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

>

> The government-supported Veterans Affairs study included 15,660

> participants and is the largest known to assess the link between

> fitness and mortality.

>

> " It is important to emphasize that it takes relatively moderate

levels

> of physical activity -- like brisk walking -- to attain the

associated

> health benefits. Certainly, one does not need to be a marathon

runner.

> This is the message that we need to convey to the public, " said

> Kokkinos, Ph.D., lead author of the study and director of the

Exercise

> Testing and Research Lab in the cardiology department at the

Veterans

> Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

>

> Professor Kokkinos and colleagues investigated exercise capacity

as an

> independent predictor of overall mortality for African-American men

> (6,749) and Caucasian men (8,911) and also examined whether racial

> differences in exercise capacity influence the risk of death.

Veterans

> were tested by a standardized treadmill test to assess exercise

> capacity between May 1983 and December 2006 at Veterans Affairs

> medical centers in Washington, D.C., and Palo Alto, Calif. The men

> were encouraged to exercise until fatigued unless they developed

> symptoms or other indicators of ischemia. These individuals were

then

> followed for an average of 7.5 years and death rates were recorded.

>

> Researchers classified the subjects into fitness categories based

on

> their treadmill performance, expressed as peak metabolic

equivalents

> (METs) achieved. Technically, a MET is equivalent to oxygen

> consumption of 3.5 milliliters per kilograms of body weight per

> minute. One MET represents the amount of oxygen the person uses at

> rest. Anything above one MET represents work. The higher the MET

level

> achieved, the more fit the individual.

>

> Based on this concept, the researchers divided the participants

into

> four categories:

>

> 1. 3,170 men were " low fit, " achieving less than 5 METs;

> 2. 5,153 men were " moderately fit, " achieving 5 to 7 METs;

> 3. 5,075 were " highly fit, " achieving 7.1 to 10 METs; and

> 4. 2,261 were " very highly fit, " achieving more than 10 METs.

>

> The study found that " highly fit " men had half the risk of death

> compared to " low fit " men. Men who achieved " very highly fit "

levels

> had a 70 percent lower risk of death compared to those in the " low

> fit " category. For every 1-MET increase in exercise capacity

> (fitness), the risk for death from all causes was 13 percent for

both

> African Americans and Caucasians.

>

> Kokkinos said, " These findings are important for several reasons:

> First, we were able to quantify the health benefits per unit

increase

> in exercise capacity. Second, this is the first study to provide

> information on physical activity and mortality in African

Americans,

> information lacking until now. Keep in mind that death rates in

> African Americans are much higher when compared with Caucasians, in

> part because race and income negatively influence access to

healthcare. "

>

> " The Veterans Affairs' health system is unique in that it ensures

> equal access to care regardless of a patient's financial status, "

he

> added. " Thus, it provides us with a unique opportunity to assess

the

> impact of exercise or physical activity on death without the

influence

> of healthcare differences. "

>

> According to Kokkinos, most middle-age and older individuals can

> attain fitness levels with a brisk walk, 30 minutes per day, five

to

> six days each week. " I do not advocate that everyone can start

with 30

> minutes of physical activity. In fact, 30 minutes may be too much

for

> some people. If this is the case, split the routine into 10-15

minutes

> in the morning and another 10-15 minutes in the evening. The

benefits

> will be similar if the exercise volume accumulated is similar, " he

said.

>

> " Our findings show that the risk of death is cut in half with an

> exercise capacity that can easily be achieved by a brisk walk of

about

> 30 minutes per session 5-6 days per week, " he added. " Physicians

> should encourage individuals to initiate and maintain a physically

> active lifestyle, which is likely to improve fitness and lower the

> risk of death. Individuals should also discuss exercise with their

> physician before embarking on an exercise program. "

>

> Co-authors are: Myers, Ph.D.; Kokkinos; s

> Pittaras, M.D.; Puneet Narayan, M.D.; Athanasios Manolis, M.D.;

Pamela

> Karasik, M.D.; Greenberg, M.D.; Vasilios Papademetriou,

M.D.;

> and Singh, M.D.

>

> Adapted from materials provided by American Heart Association.

> Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of

> the following formats:

> APA

>

> MLA

> American Heart Association (2008, January 23). Daily Exercise

> Dramatically Lowers Men's Death Rates. ScienceDaily. Retrieved

January

> 26, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­

> /releases/2008/01/080122165618.htm

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Dennis:

Yes. But the benefits of exercise seem to be largely related to CVD

and diabetes. And since CRON appears to very very effectively fix

those problems it is not so clear to me that lots of exercise will

do much to help people established on CRON. (We all acknowledge, I

think, that there is a certain minimum level of exercise that is

necessary for health maintenance. Bed-ridden little old ladies do

ot generally susrvive for long.)

But if studies are done (or if they have already been done) to show

what the effects are on lifespan of CRON mice with exercise,

compared with CRON mice (or monkeys, or whatever) without exercise,

then I will certainly pay attention.

There may be an analogy with the effects of wine consumption on the

general population - it greatly reduces mortality up to surprisingly

large quantities of wine. But the benefits seem to be for CVD. So

I am not convinced (yet) that people on CRON will benefit from wine

consumption. I still drink wine, however. And I do get some

exercise.

When the appropriate studies get posted here my views will respond

accordingly.

Rodney.

> >

> > SICK PEOPLE DIE SOONER, AND SICK PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE THE STRENGTH

OR

> > ENDURANCE THAT WOULD BE REFLECTED IN MEASURED EXERCISE CAPACITY?

> >

> > My bet, based solely on the contents of your post, is that the

sick

> > members of their study had less exercise capacity BECAUSE they

were

> > sick. And they died sooner because they were already sick.

> >

> >

> >

> No doubt this was a factor. However it seems self evident that

modest

> exercise will be beneficial to longevity. Now all I have to do is

apply

> this to my life! LOL

>

> Positive Dennis

>