2.3 Reducing the risk of disease A

First Author:   Alex Mejia

Second Author:  Joe Fifer

Reducing the Risk of Disease with Jogging

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Cardiovascular Disease

• Of all the benefits to running, better cardiovascular health is probably the most rewarding. Running forces the heart to pump more to deliver oxygenated blood to the muscles. This workload effectively strengthens the heart, and consistent long term conditioning can lead to decreased risk of heart attack and heart failure.
• Running causes the arteries to expand and contract up to three times as much as when sedentary, which maintains their elasticity and subsequently leads to lower blood pressure.
• With hypertension being one of the leading causes of heart disease and stroke, running does much to lower risk. The lungs experience an increase in capacity and strength as well, which leads to increased oxygenation of the blood for the heart to deliver. This higher efficiency decreases the amount of workload stress needed for adequate delivery, which leads to better long term health of the cardiovascular system.^[2] 

Cancer

• Running reduces the risk of stroke and breast cancer. Regular running has become a treatment option for doctors to prescribe to patients who are at a high risk, or early stages, of osteoporosis, diabetes, and hypertension. It reduces the risk of heart attacks, by strengthening the heart and lowering blood pressure. Running lowers blood pressure and maintains the elasticity of arteries incredibly well because as you run your arteries expand and contract nearly three times as much as usual.^[3] Not only that, it also helps to improve your immune system, thus enabling your body to fight against various types of diseases.

Osteoporosis

• Running regularly also has been proven to help fight the aging process. It prevents muscle and bone loss that often occur with age. Our bones are made to accommodate the demands placed upon them. By sitting at a computer all day many of us allow our bones to grow weaker, but by running regularly our skeleton gets the demand it needs to stay healthy.^[4] Because when you jog you put so much weight on your bones you are building them up and making them more dense, thus preventing broken bones and osteoporosis.

Use Running to Kick the Habit!!

• Smoking leads to cardiovascular illnesses such as high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease (clogged arteries). As arteries constrict, there is also a greater risk of stroke, which results in a disruption of the flow of blood carrying oxygen to the brain. In fact, studies show that smokers are two to three times more likely to have a stroke or heart attack than non-smokers, and the risk of cardiovascular disease is highest for smokers with high blood pressure.^[5]

• One of the biggest things holding people back from quitting smoking or chewing tobacco is the daily routine!  Many people have found another way to cope with the withdrawal symptoms of nicotine addiction.
• Running and any other form of exercise can replace that harmful routine with a healthy routine. 

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