5 minutes of running a day extends our life by 3 years

People who run for at least 5 minutes a day are 30% less likely to die prematurely, and their life expectancy is extended by at least 3 years.

These are the results of a new survey conducted in Dallas among approximately 55,000 adults. The health status of the people was observed for a period of 6 to 22 years. About 24% of people said that they run regularly.

The results were startling – people who ran were 30% less at risk of premature death from various diseases compared to those who did not run. Also, runners were 45% less at risk of cardiovascular disease.

The results of the study are considered as real as possible because everything possible has been done to account for factors such as age, smoking, drinking alcohol and others. Hereditary factors and sports habits of the participants are also taken into account.

The study clearly showed that those who ran were 24% less likely to die during the study period. In fact, mortality associated with lack of exercise was much more pronounced than that associated with overweight (16%), the factor “family history of cardiovascular disease” (20%), and high cholesterol (6%).

For greater accuracy, the runners were divided into several groups depending on how many minutes they ran per week. The least active group included those who run up to 50 minutes a week. The group of the most active runners includes all those who run more than 175 minutes a week.

The surprise was great when the scientists noticed that the difference between them was not great. In practice, runners benefited almost equally, even when they only ran for a few minutes a day and at a slow pace.

Other factors were also measured – total weekly distance run, speed and duration. In all categories, even those who jog the least were many times less likely to die than those who did not jog.

All that needs to be done is to include 30 to 59 minutes of running per week and the results will not be long in coming. People who cannot spare 15 or 20 minutes of their precious time could spare at least 5 minutes and the results will pleasantly surprise them.

The study shows that if all non-athletes had started running during the study, it would have improved the health and saved the lives of approximately 546 people, or about 16% of all participants.

However, it cannot be said with certainty whether this study could be applied to every country and every class of people. For example, the study in question was conducted in the US, in Dallas, Texas, among middle- or upper-middle-class, college-educated people.

However, those who conducted the study insist that the results would have been roughly the same regardless of the environment in which it was conducted and regardless of race.

Unrelated to the US study, another group of scientists from Taiwan also encouraged people to run and exercise for at least a few minutes a day.

Scientists say it is important for the public to be aware of the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in people who do not exercise (by approximately 45%), as well as an increase of around 10% in various cancers, diabetes and other diseases. It turns out that the lack of sports seriously increases the risk of depression.

The authors of another study from 2011, for their part, claim that fast walking also has a very strong positive effect on a person, as even just 15 minutes of walking at a brisk pace can significantly extend human life.

The authors of the above studies recall that the list of diseases that we can deal with or prevent solely by changing motor activity is quite long.