New research into exercise and premature death suggests that running may be the single most effective exercise you can do to increase life expectancy.
The study found that, compared to non-runners, runners tended to live about three additional years, even if they smoked, drank or were overweight. No other form of exercise showed the same benefits for life span.
A previous study from a group of exercise scientists conducted at the Cooper Institute in Dallas, USA, found that just five minutes of running each day was associated with longer life spans. When the results were published, the researchers were inundated with queries. Long-distance runners, for example, asked if they could be doing too much, and at what point running became counterproductive, while other scientists questioned the validity of the results.
One hour of running could add seven hours to your life
A new study was developed by the team headed by Dr Duck-chul Lee, a professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University. They set out to address the issues raised from the Cooper Institute, by re-analysing the data and examining results from other large-scale recent studies looking into the associations between exercise and mortality.
Overall, the new review reinforced the earlier findings, indicating that running, no matter what the pace or mileage, reduced premature death by almost 40%, even accounting for smoking, drinking and other health problems, such as obesity.
The scientists determined that if every non-runner, who had been part of the research, had taken up the sport, there would have been 16% fewer deaths overall, and 25% fewer deaths from heart attack. Hour for hour, the researchers estimated that running statistically returns more time to people’s lives than it consumes. Two hours per week, for instance, means that a typical runner would spend less than six months running over the course of almost 40 years, but could expect an increase in lifespan of 3.2 years. So, theoretically, an hour of running lengthens life expectancy by seven hours.
Love running, live longer
Of course, the gains were not infinite, topping out at around three extra years, no matter how much people ran. However, prolonged running did not seem to be counterproductive for longevity with data showing that improvements in life expectancy plateaued out at around four hours of running per week, but did not decline after that.
Other forms of exercise also benefit life expectancy, but not to the same extent. Walking, cycling and other activities, requiring the same exertion, typically dropped the risk of premature death by about 12%. Said Dr Lee, the reasons for this are uncertain, but it is likely that running combats many of the common risk factors for early death, including high blood pressure and extra body fat. Running also raises aerobic fitness – one of the best-known indicators of an individual’s long-term health.