[pc2g4d]

The conclusions drawn in the article don't seem to match the study in question. The participants were not experimentally assigned to be either walkers or runners; rather, they had themselves already selected whether or not to be walkers or runners. This implies that the large proportion of older adults who are neither walkers nor runners are not represented in this study. It also makes it impossible to determine the direction of causality in the correlations discovered. Did people's running cause them to be healthier? Or did people's being healthier cause them to be runners?

[CapitalistCartr]

Or neither; people who run regularly tend to practice other healthy habits. Or maybe it's mostly genetics.

[pc2g4d]

Good call---confounders lurk!

[freefrancisco]

Even if the study had been conducted properly, this only addresses walking vs running. That running is better than walking doesn't necessarily mean that people should go and start running. How about running vs lifting weights, running vs yoga, or running vs tai chi?

[kangax]

A much more interesting question indeed.

There's been numerous (human and animal) studies showing benefits of strength training for elderly. Ergo-log covers [1] those [2] all [3] the time [4].

Then there's evidence [5] suggesting that higher calorie burning is directly associated with reduced death rate.

And a specific quote on muscle mass:

"A recent theory suggests that developed muscle mass results in considerable emissions of anti-inflammatory and life-extending signal substances. That's why muscular strength is believed to protect against cancer and why strong men are thought to live longer."

(links to studies confirming those claims are in the article)

The thing about running (if we're talking about traditional jogging) is that it does poor job at burning calories. It's a movement that becomes "familiar" very quick (and so becomes easier, according to Principle of Adaptation) and the one in which it's difficult to increase intensity. You also don't develop muscle mass when jogging, which would contribute to higher metabolic rate and reduced chance of injury.

Everything suggests that strength training (whether it's bodyweight, yoga, suspension trainer, or barbells and kettlebells) combined with proper supplementation is the best bang for your buck.

[1] http://www.ergo-log.com/over-seventies-benefit-more-from-pow...

[2] http://www.ergo-log.com/combination-strength-training-green-...

[3] http://www.ergo-log.com/over-nineties-still-react-to-strengt...

[4] http://www.ergo-log.com/cholesterolmuscles.html

[5] http://www.ergo-log.com/caloriemortality.html

[halfcat]

>Or did people's being healthier cause them to be runners?

There was another study that showed that people who take up mixed martial arts in their late 40s are healthier than people of the same age who only walk [1]. No word on whether genetics plays a role.

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herschel_Walker

[thesz]

Martial arts are 1) interval training in disguise and 2) strength endurance training in disguise.

Kata practicing is an exercise in explosive power over long period (several minutes), thus strength endurance training.

All MA training I attended interspersed action with rest. Thus interval training.