It's official... jogging can help you prolong your life

BISPEBJERG, Germany - Researchers in Germany found between 60 and 90 minutes of jogging per week at a slow or average pace delivers optimum benefits for longevity of life.  The Copenhagen City Heart Study at Bispebjerg University Hospital studied the mortality of 1,116 male joggers and 762 female joggers, as compared to that of non-joggers.  The study found regular jogging increases life expectancy of men by 6.2 years and of women by 5.6 year: a fact that has local joggers excited.

One Kansas City jogger tells us running is a small way to make up for an otherwise unhealthy lifestyle.

"Oh, that's actually good.  It'd make me want to go run,” says Kansas City jogger Shawna Webber.  “I think if a lot of women hear that, they didn't think they had to run so much.  So that would be good even for older people.”

The first data were collected between 1976 and 1978, the second from 1981 to 1983, the third from 1991 to 1994, and the fourth from 2001 to 2003.  Participants were asked to answer questions about the amount of time they spent jogging each week.  Researchers collected data about pace and how often each jogger ran.  The findings presented at the EuroPRevent2012 meeting in Dublin suggest the risk of death was reduced by 44% for both male and female joggers.

Local joggers feel the study makes sense, given the fact that most people living in the modern world are prone to unhealthy lifestyles.

"We don't always make the good choices with eating right and, you know, we slack on a lot of stuff,” says Webber.  “So running is one very important thing that I love to do.  I think good for you."