Running Adds Years To Your Life

A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, and written by a group of researches at Stanford University, indicates that running can substantially add years to your life and provide a higher quality of life for much later as well.

The study has been conducted over the course of more than 20 years, in which time researchers monitored 500 runners as they approached and moved past middle-age, and then compared their findings to a similar aged group of non-runners. What they discovered was quite remarkable. For instance, non-runners were more than twice as likely to have died over the course of the study. Furthermore, there were no indications that runners were more likely to contract osteoarthritis, and running well into your 80's continued to show benefits.

Perhaps the most startling thing of all however, was that traditional health issues that come along with aging, such as osteoarthritis, cardiovascular issues, heart trouble, and so on, did not occur until 16 years later, on average, than the non-runners, providing a much higher quality of life.

What does this all mean? Pretty simple. Good exercise, on a regular basis, is great for your health. I know we probably didn't need a scientist to tell us that, but there are some really great numbers, with data to back it up, that should have us all heading out to the shoe store this weekend. The benefits are substantial, and a new pair of running shoes are in order.

Thanks Backpacker for this story.