Jogging 'adds five years or more to life'

As little as an hour a week is enough to deliver the surprising health benefit, according to the medics, who studied the longevity of around 2,000 Danish joggers with that of those who exercised less.
What is more, they found that gentle jogging appeared to be better in terms of adding years to one's life, than cranking up the pace.

Male joggers who spent between 60 minutes and two-and-a-half hours a week, split into two or three runs, treading the pavements at a "slow or average" pace lived on average 6.2 years longer than non-exercisers, found the team working on the Copenhagen City Heart Study.

Female joggers derived slightly less benefit, but still an impressive 5.6 extra years.

The results of the research are being presented at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, being held in Dublin this weekend.

Peter Schnohr, chief cardiologist on the heart study project, said: "We can say with certainty that regular jogging increases longevity.

"The good news is that you don't actually need to do that much to reap the benefits."

The study, started in 1976, has followed the cardiovascular health of around 20,000 people aged 20 to 93.

So you wake up early in the morning and decide that it is time to start jogging. Nice decision. But before you actually go outside and start to jog, there are some certain things and rules you should take into account before actually starting. These issues and rules are needed for you to get as many jogging benefits as possible and in a most effective way.

Jogging techniques

Your body weight has to be distributed evenly on your foot. Legs should be slightly bent. Start stepping from you heel. Do not jog on your toes – it can make your legs sore.

Keep your body straight, arms slightly bent, hands made to fists and do not waggle too much when you jog.

Your neck, shoulders, arms, fingers and tongue should be relaxed while jogging. Size of step is individual, but it shouldn’t be too big or too small, usually 50-60cm (20 – 24 inches).

The jogging sub-study looked at 1,116 male joggers and 762 female joggers and compared their lifespans to non-joggers in the main study population. Joggers were asked to assess whether they ran at a slow, average, or fast pace.

Dr Schnohr, who is based at Bispebjerg University Hospital in Copenhagen, said there was a U-shaped relationship between the amount and intensity of jogging and a person's risk of dying over a particular period.

He said: "Mortality is lower in people reporting moderate jogging, than in non-joggers or those undertaking extreme levels of exercise.

Jogging tips Do not eat and drink before jogging. Do it afterwords.