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.
Do not jog till your head starts to ache. Before you finish jogging, decrease your jogging pace gradually and then walk around for a couple of minutes.
After one week of regular jogging you can increase your jogging pace and distance. Please do not overdo.
“You should aim to feel a little breathless, but not very breathless.”
Introduction to Running
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines running as “to go faster than a walk; specifically: to go steadily by springing steps so that both feet leave the ground for an instant.” The key is that both feet are in the air at the same time. By comparison, one foot is always in contact with the ground when you walk. Running is less efficient than walking, as mentioned earlier, precisely because you must propel your body weight through the air.
Jogging vs. Running
The movement is similar; running is just faster.
Last year he presented similar research from the same heart study, looking at the impact of cycle commuting on cardiovascular health.