Physical activity in ALS: friend or foe?

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17 Oct 2026 0 comments

The role of physical activity in ALS risk could depend on intensity, sex, genetics, timing and other factors

In the paper by Gao et al, a higher level of overall physical activity — whether self-reported or device-measured — was associated with a lower future risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the UK Biobank.1 Interestingly, this protective effect was more pronounced at moderate activity levels and among women and it persisted in people with an increased genetic risk for ALS (ie, individuals homozygous for the C allele at rs12608932 in UNC13A; a similar trend was observed in C9ORF72 expansion carriers although not statistically significant).

There is a long-running concern that high-intensity physical activity may be harmful for ALS. This stems from the long list of elite athletes — particularly those in professional contact sports and high-endurance disciplines — who were diagnosed with and later died from the...