Every now and then we are witness to some study, which prescribes some life style change to extend our lives. Is there any need to listen to such prescriptions? Yes it’s. As we’re increasingly becoming sedentary. Much different from our ancestors, who surpass us in activity. For this reason, the tangible link between activity or exercise and Human health is a point of focus of the researchers.
A new research by the researchers from the Iowa State University, the University of South Carolina, Louisiana State University and the University of Queensland School of Medicine, says that,
People who jogged or ran for as little as five minutes a day reduced their risk of premature death by nearly one-third and extended their lives by about three years.
The study began with dividing the participants , 55000, in two groups — those who claimed themselves as Runners and those who don’t. The Study was carried on for 6 years. Compared to those who didn’t run, those who did were 30 percent less likely to die of any cause during the course of the study. They were also 45 percent less likely to die as a result of cardiovascular disease.
The above findings were arrived at taking into account the people’s smoking and drinking habits, how old they were when they enrolled in the study, their family’s health history and their other exercise habits.
And here is the surprise. The study found that the risk of dying early (24 percent), because of not running was even more than the mortality risk associated with being overweight or obese (16 percent), having a family history of cardiovascular disease (20 percent), or having high cholesterol (6 percent). In addition, increases the risk of incidence of cancer, diabetes and untold depression(10 percent).
Another surprise the study offers is with regarding time duration of Running. The researchers found that running for 50 minutes over a seven-day period (7 minutes a day ) and for more than 175 minutes a week (25 minutes a day), over the course of a week, makes no difference. That’s running for 7 minutes a day is as good as 25 minutes a day. The benefits of running are pretty much the same for all runners, irrespective of the time they run for .
The research also found that even low intensity running, that ‘s running at lower doses or slower speeds, is also seen to be associated with significant mortality benefits. The study found that the mere act of running imparts health benefits of Runners compared to non-runners.
Conclusion: In order to reduce the risk of premature death, all it took was 30 to 59 minutes of running per week, the researchers calculated.
Afterthoughts on the Study findings :
We humans always knew the importance of exercise. But the exigencies of the modern day living took us away from activity. Eating always went with activity. Animals are a perfect example of this wisdom. An obese animal is rarity in wild.
Activity is one of the crucial factors in deciding our health, as activity like running, brisk walking , weight training keeps the body active and responsive to any threats posed by diseases, eating, smoking drinking etc. For this reason, people who regularly play sports are more healthy than those who don’t.
Hence for a healthy body and mind; and for longevity , exercise 5 minutes a day. If you can’t run then Brisk Walk for 15 minutes a day.
. It’s another thing that the Jagran Josh, the education site of Dainik Jagran, wants to call the book as the autobiography by former External Affairs Minister and ‘Senior Congress Party Leader Natwar Singh’.
