Table 3.
Dose-response analysis on the effects of running on biomedical indices of health
| Outcome measure | Length of training (weeks) β (95 % CI) |
Frequency (sessions/week) β (95 % CI) |
Duration (h/week) β (95 % CI) |
Distance (km/week) β (95 % CI) |
Intensity (%HRmax) β (95 % CI) |
Speed (km/h) β (95 % CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body composition | ||||||
| Body mass (kg) | −0.06 (−0.12 to −0.01)* | −0.19 (−1.63 to 1.24) | 0.55 (−0.90 to 2.00) | −0.20 (−0.62 to 0.23) | 0.25 (−0.02 to 0.52) | – |
| Lean body mass (kg) | 0.00 (−0.05 to 0.06) | −0.46 (−1.45 to 0.53) | −0.33 (−1.09 to 0.44) | – | – | – |
| Body fat (%) | −0.05 (−0.09 to 0.00) | 0.07 (−0.78 to 0.92) | 0.22 (−0.35 to 0.79) | – | 0.24 (−0.03 to 0.52) | – |
| BMI (kg m−2) | 0.00 (−0.06 to 0.07) | −0.04 (−0.79 to 0.71) | −0.21 (−1.11 to 0.68) | – | – | – |
| Cardiorespiratory | ||||||
| Resting heart rate (min−1) | −0.07 (−0.18 to 0.04) | 1.60 (−0.45 to 3.66) | 1.50 (−0.49 to 3.48) | – | – | – |
| VO2max (ml min−1 kg−1) | 0.07 (0.03 to 0.11)* | −0.10 (−0.88 to 0.68) | −0.71 (−1.32 to −0.11)* | – | −0.07 (−0.30 to 0.15) | – |
| Blood serum concentration | ||||||
| Triglycerides (mg dl−1) | −0.08 (−0.57 to 0.41) | −2.48 (−14.61 to 9.65) | −1.87 (−9.52 to 5.78) | −0.85 (−3.08 to 1.37) | – | 1.19 (−2.08 to 4.47) |
| Total cholesterol (mg dl−1) | 0.06 (−0.18 to 0.29) | 4.40 (−1.13 to 9.93) | 3.52 (−0.06 to 7.09) | 0.27 (−0.69 to 1.22) | – | −0.59 (−1.96 to 0.78) |
| HDL cholesterol (mg dl−1) | 0.07 (−0.03 to 0.18) | −2.10 (−6.29 to 2.09) | 1.71 (−2.12 to 5.53) | – | – | – |
| LDL cholesterol (mg dl−1) | −0.19 (−0.51 to 0.12) | 4.67 (−5.32 to 14.65) | – | – | – | – |
All estimates came from the random-effects meta-regression using the mean difference between the intervention groups (endurance running) and the control groups (physically inactive) as the dependent variable, and the running characteristics as numeric linear predictors. The average of the weekly running speed (km/h) was calculated dividing the weekly running distance (km/week) by the weekly duration (h/week)
β linear regression coefficient, %HR max percentage of maximum heart rate, BMI body mass index, CI confidence interval, HDL high-density lipoprotein, LDL low-density lipoprotein, VO 2max maximal oxygen uptake, “–” not applicable
* Statistically significant estimate (95 % CI around β not including zero)