Doctor outlines the health benefits of 5k parkruns

There was an interesting article on the parkrun website this week from a Dr. Simon Tobin in the UK who outlined the benefits of local 5k parkruns there.

Here is a short excerpt...

I have been a GP at the same practice in Southport for 23 years. My interest is cardiovascular disease, diet, exercise and diabetes, and over the past few years I have become increasingly passionate about the benefits of ‘lifestyle medicine’. In other words, what people can do to help themselves before resorting to lifelong medication.

We know that regular exercise reduces the risk of a heart attack or a stroke by a similar amount as being on a statin tablet or taking a blood pressure pill. When I ask my patients whether they would rather take medication for the rest of their lives or alternatively try improvements to their diets and increasing their exercise, they almost always choose the latter.

I’ve seen many, many people exercise themselves back to health. It’s a win-win situation for my patients and the NHS. My patients are healthier, happier and on fewer medications, and the NHS saves a fortune on unnecessary drugs and dealing with their side effects.
There are plenty of examples given in the article about the positive effects the local parkrun has had.

You can read the full article HERE

Remember, there are no shortage of 5k parkruns in Cork and Munster and they are all free. They are held every Saturday morning at 9:30am. See the calendar.