Run for your life

Yes, jogging is a good exercise, and it’s a well-known fact. But did you know that performing the simple exercise regularly can actually add 5-6 years to your life?

A new study from Denmark suggests that going for a jog regularly may help you live longer: can add up more than six years to male life expectancy and 5.6 years to women’s longevity.

The findings show that women who regularly jogged lived 5.6 years longer than women who didn’t, and men who jogged lived 6.2 years longer than those who didn’t. Jogging for one to 2.5 hours per week at a slow or average pace seemed to deliver the greatest benefit, said study researcher Peter Schnohr, chief cardiologist of the Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS).

The study also reveals that slow or average pace of jogging delivers optimum benefits of longevity and that risk of death was reduced by 44%. Besides, doctors say, jogging can help those with cardio vascular diseases and those suffering with weight issues in reducing weight. 

“It is true of any exercise that it helps in reducing risks of cardiac diseases. A latest study has also shown 45 minutes to one hour of moderate to intensive exercise does help in reducing mortality,” said Dr Ramamurthy Bingi, Chief Cardiologist, BGS Global Hospitals. Adding to this, he said: “These are called life style modifications to reduce sugar, blood pressure, obesity and other cardiac diseases.”

The research which started around 1976, is a cardiovascular population study of 20,000 men and women aged between 20 and 93 years. The participants of the study were asked to answer questions about the amount of time spent jogging each week and to rate their own perceptions of the pace which had to be defined as ‘slow’ or ‘average’ or ‘fast’. Results show that in the follow-up period involving a maximum of 35 years, 10,158 deaths were registered among the non-joggers and 122 deaths among the joggers.

“It is shown that exercise increases nitric oxide in endothelium in the blood vessels. This helps in keeping good help,” Dr Ramamurthy said.

Joggers also says that they have noticed that they seem more healthy and happy on the days they exercise than on the days they don’t. “It is a stress buster. Jogging helps me relax and feel fresh when I go to a day filled with work stress,” said Shilpa Magadi, an IT employee from Bangalore.

“I believe that we should keep good health instead of insurances. I have been jogging since I was 26 and today at the age of 55, I don’t have a health insurance or health problem. I have no cardiac issue, no diabetes, or cholesterol,” said Mohan Narasimhan, a businessman.

The debate over jogging first kicked off in the 1970s when middle-aged men took an interest in the past-time. “After a few men died while out on a run, various newspapers suggested that jogging might be too strenuous for ordinary middle aged people,” recalled Schnohr.

Since then the study, which has prompted in publication of over 750 papers, has expanded to include other diseases such as heart failure, pulmonary diseases, allergy, epilepsy, dementia, sleep-apnea and genetics. The first data was collected between 1976 to 1978, the second from 1981 to 1983, the third from 1991 to 1994, and the fourth from 2001 to 2003.

Wearing the right shoes also makes a huge difference for jogging.

“Light shoes with good grips and anti-slippery soul is needed for jogging. Many use regular sneakers which actually injure the feet,” said Hariharan K, a regular jogger at the Sankey Tank.

“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,” Schnohr said.

“The relationship appears much like alcohol intakes. Mortality is lower in people reporting moderate jogging, than in non-joggers or those undertaking extreme levels of exercise,” Schnohr said.

The ideal jogging pace can be achieved by striving to feel a little breathless. “You should aim to feel a little breathless, but not very breathless,” he added.

The findings will be presented today at a European Society of Cardiology meeting in Dublin. —With IANS & Reuters inputs