WALKING VS. RUNNING

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WALKING VS. RUNNING
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Exercise is better than any drug in maintaining
heart, lung, muscle, bones, digestive and brain
health. Exercise helps with weight loss, lowers
cholesterol, improves our heart function,
strengthens our muscles, increases balance,
reduces cancer, boosts our immune system, fights
depression, reduces stress, improves sleep,
enhances our mood, and aids in brain regeneration
minimizing effects of Alzheimers and
dementia!  Even minimal lite running of 5 to 10
minutes a day was found to reduce overall
mortality by 30, reduce cardiovascular disease
by 45, and add 3 years of life
expectancy (1).  Yet, almost 80 of Americans
remain sedentary and less than 30 of high school
students get 60 minutes of physical activity
every day (2). Walking vs. Running Any exercise
is better than nothing, as the saying goes If
you dont use it, you lose it.  Significant
controversy has always been as to which is
better, walking or running?   It really boils
down to the individual.  Walking is more
protective to our joints and is the ideal
exercise for everyone.  Running burns more
calories and has higher benefit levels for our
heart, muscles, bones, and weight loss.  A 5-min
run generates the same benefits as a 15-min walk,
and a 25-min run is equivalent to a 105-min
walk (3).
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Over TrainingThere are no negative
consequences to walking as long as the ground is
not slippery.  Running, on the other hand, does
have a high risk of injury due to overtraining or
training over an extended period with inadequate
recovery.  Proper recovery is just as essential
as training because this is the time that your
bones, muscle, joints, and cartilage rebuild and
become stronger.  Injury prevention is easy as
long as you understand the importance of active
rest periods.  Overtraining occurs when
one ignores the signs of fatigue and continues to
train. Many athletes believe that weakness or
poor performance signals the need for even harder
training, so they continue to push themselves.
This only breaks down the body further.    Our
muscles, tendons, and bones need time to recover
after stressful events. When we train at intense
levels for over 60 minutes, our heart can also
begin to stretch and overwhelm the muscles
ability to adapt, and inflammation occurs inside
your coronary arteries. Excessive endurance
training may also dampen your immune system and
increase your risk for illness. Overall, more
than half of the people who run will experience
some trauma from doing so, while the percentage
of walkers who will get hurt is around 1 percent.
Interestingly, it seems you can walk pretty much
endlessly without any increased risk of hurting
yourself. The main running-related injuries
include Iliotibial band, tibia stress syndrome,
Achilles tendon injuries, and plantar fasciitis.
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Myth Running causes arthritis One of the most
common myths is that running stresses your joints
and leads to arthritis. The opposite is actually
true.  Exercise promotes cartilage thickening and
prevents the loss of cartilage proteoglycans,
which provide cartilages viscoelastic
properties. These effects of exercise are
significant because cartilage thinning, and focal
loss of proteoglycans are prominent features of
osteoarthritis.  Only 3.5 of runners develop hip
or knee arthritis, versus those that are
sedentary average 10.2 hip and 13.3 knee
arthritis (4). You have a MUCH greater chance of
developing arthritis if you are sedentary versus
if you stay active.  A recent study found that
loads were actually lower for running versus
walking at 3.47 m/s, because of a greater
distance traveled per stride. (5). Our bodies
were built to move, not to be sedentary objects,
so KEEP MOVING!
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Exercise for Brain HealthExercise increases the
blood supply or food to our brain. This changes
the brain from the molecular to behavioral level
in ways that protect our memory and thinking
skills. One of the coolest things is that
aerobic exercise enhances neurogenesis.  This is
the process of building new brain connections or
neurons.  It also improves brain plasticity, or
the ability of the brain to change and adapt.
Many studies have noted that the prefrontal
cortex and the hippocampus of the brain have
higher volume in people who exercise versus
people who dont.  These areas control thinking
and memory. The benefits of exercise were found
to not only enhance learning but also protect the
brain from injury and maintain function with
aging.  This includes lowering the risk of
Alzheimers and dementia. It is estimated that
115 million people will have dementia worldwide
by the year 2050.  This alone is a reason to get
moving!  Activities with both physical and mental
demands, such as coordination, strategy, and
rhythm have a higher impact on cognitive function
than exercise alone.  So, get out and play that
round of golf, or learn to ballroom dance. You
just need to get the heart pumping to stimulate
your brain!
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Everyone has heard about the runners high.
High level of aerobic exercise reduces levels of
the bodys stress hormones, such as adrenaline
and cortisol. It also stimulates the production
of endorphins or chemicals in the brain that are
the bodys natural painkillers and mood
elevators.  So not only does exercise relieve
stress, but it can also reduce depression and
anxiety and improve mood and sleep. Instead of
grabbing that cup of coffee, when you are in a
slump, go for that brisk walk. Keep moving!
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• Bibliography
• Leisure-time running reduces all-cause and
  cardiovascular mortality risk. Lee. s.l.  J Am
  Coll Cardiol, 2014, Vol. 64. 472-481.
• Centers for Disease Control. Facts about Physical
  Activity. www.cdc.gov. Online Cited 7 21,
  2018. https//www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/data/f
  acts.htm.
• Minimum amount of physical activity for reduced
  mortality and extended life expectancy a
  prospective cohort study. Wen. s.l.  Lancet,
  2011, Vol. 378. 1224-1253.
• The Association of Recreational and Competitive
  Running With Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis A
  Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Alentorn-Geli
  . 6, s.l.  J Ortho Sports Phys Therapy, 2017,
  Vol. 47. 373-390.
• Is running better than walking for reducing hip
  joint loads? Schache. s.l.  Med Science in
  Sports Ex., 2018, Vol. 6.

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Exercise interventions for cognitive function in
adults older than 50 a systematic review with
meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med Published Online
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