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Regular jogging prolongs life span
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Regular jogging increases life expectancy by 6.2 years for men and 5.6 years for women. This information was made public at the EuroPRevent2012 conference, which is taking place in Dublin, Ireland, from May 3 to 5.
The conclusion about the benefits of running was made by scientists from the Copenhagen University Hospital based on the results of the Copenhagen City Heart study, which began in 1976. About 20 thousand men and women aged 20 to 93 years participated in it.
The researchers compared the mortality of 1,116 male and 762 female runners with the mortality of those who did not jog. All subjects answered questions about how much time they spent running each week, and also rated their running speed (slow, medium, fast). Data was collected for the first time in 1976–1978, for the second time in 1981–1983, for the third time in 1991–1994, and for the fourth time in 2001–2003.
It turned out that during the observation period of at least 35 years, there were 10,158 deaths among non-runners and only 122 deaths among joggers. Subsequent analysis of the data showed that jogging reduced the risk of death by 44% in both men and women. In addition, it was found that regular jogging extended the life of men by 6.2 years, and women by 5.6 years.
The optimal effect was achieved by two or three runs per week, lasting from an hour to two and a half hours in total. Such exercises were especially beneficial when the running was slow or medium speed.
According to the authors of the study, jogging improves oxygen uptake, increases insulin sensitivity, optimizes the lipid profile (raises the level of "good" cholesterol and reduces the concentration of triglycerides), reduces blood pressure, reduces platelet aggregation, increases fibrinolytic activity, improves cardiac function, increases bone density, strengthens the immune system, reduces the content of inflammatory markers, prevents obesity and has a beneficial effect on physiological functions.
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