Vigorous exercise may help prevent AMD, cataracts, studies suggest.

Writing in the Los Angeles Times (2/10) Booster Shots blog, Jeannine Stein observed that, according to two studies published in the Jan. issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, "vigorous exercise...may help prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts." Both "studies looked at data from almost eight years of follow-up from the National Runners' Health Study. In one, 110 men and 42 women received a clinical diagnosis of" AMD "during the follow-up." But, "running an average of two to four kilometers a day reduced the risk by 19 percent, and running more than four kilometers per day reduced the risk by 42...to 54 percent, compared with those who ran less than two kilometers a day." The second study found that men who "ran 64 or more kilometers a week had a 35 percent lower cataract risk than those who ran less than 16 kilometers per week," and "those with better cardiovascular fitness were also at less risk than men who were less fit."