Just 30 minutes of jogging a day could add 9 YEARS to your lifespan

Just 30 minutes of jogging a day for five days a week could extend your lifespan by up to 10 years, a new study claims.

New research shows that those who exercise regularly can slow down the aging of cells.

The workouts have to be high intensity for the effect to be strong enough, researchers say.

Experts at Brigham Young University determined there was a difference of nine and seven years at a cellular level between those who did intense workouts on a regular basis compared to those who did moderate exercises.

Women, they found, need to jog for up to 30 minutes a day for five days a week in order to slow down cell aging. For men, it's 40 minutes.

It could even stave off the onset of wrinkles and graying hair. 

For young people, cells throughout the body are strong which translates into smooth and firm skin, shiny, full hair and lots of energy.

As the years pass, the strength of cells diminishes and they suffer breakage. Outwardly this is shown through wrinkles, grey hair and visible veins.  

Exercise science professor Larry Tucker said: 'Just because you're 40, doesn't mean you're 40 years old biologically.

'We all know people that seem younger than their actual age. The more physically active we are, the less biological aging takes place in our bodies.'

The research found those who trained in high volumes compared to those who didn't or those who exercised less frequently had much longer telomeres, which are the protein endcaps of chromosomes.

The length of telomeres have a strong correlation with a person's age and over time the endcaps get shorter and shorter.

The longer the telomeres, the more they protect DNA from 'fraying' and succumbing to disease. And the longer the telomeres, means for looking and feeling more youthful.  

Telomeres serve as a guide as what causes aging and how much cells can renew. Cell renewal keeps tissues young and healthy.

For some, exercise may not work to slow down the hands of time.

Researchers from the University of California in Los Angeles claimed that some people are destined to die earlier, no matter their levels of physical activity or their lifestyle. 

Through the study, they found five percent of people are genetically programmed to age faster and die younger than others. 

Race may be another component on how cells age. 

Latinos age slower than any other ethnicity according to researchers at UCLA.

They claim the group is unequivocally healthier due to cells taking much longer to age.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Latinos in the United States live an average of three years longer than Caucasians, with a life expectancy of 82 versus 79. 

Physical activity has been linked to several other benefits which could increase lifespans.

Tucker said: 'We know that regular physical activity helps to reduce mortality and prolong life, and now we know part of that advantage may be due to the preservation of telomeres.'

Exercise has been found to ward off obesity and limit the risk of cardiovascular disease. 

Despite the benefits of working out, statistics on regular physical activity in the nation are bleak; only about 20 percent of Americans get enough exercise and about 64 percent never do any physical activity at all. 

[dailymail]

Also read:

• Just 4 minutes of intense cycling can stop cells from aging quickly, study reveals
• Want to improve your memory? Then go for a morning jog
• Why you might be 20 years older than your actual age
• Latinos age much slower at molecular level than other ethnicities

Every hour you run adds 7 hours to your lifespan

Every hour you run extends your life span by seven hours - no matter how slow you go, a new study has revealed.

Scientists say that running just one hour a week is the most effective exercise to increase life expectancy. This holds true no matter how many miles or how fast you run, the researchers claim.

For those that take this advice to heart and run regularly, they say you can extend your life span by up to three years.

The study, conducted at Iowa State University, reanalyzed data from The Cooper Institute, in Texas, and also examined results from a number of other recent studies that looked at the link between exercise and mortality.

Scientists found that the new review reinforced the findings of earlier research.

At whatever pace or mileage, a person's risk of premature death dropped by 40 percent when he or she took up running.

This applied even when researchers controlled for smoking, drinking or a history of health problems such as obesity.

Three years ago, the same team conducted a study that analyzed more than 55,000 adults, and determined that running for just seven minutes a day could help slash the risk of dying from heart disease.

They followed participants over a period of 15 years, and found that of the more than 3,000 who died, only one-third of deaths were from heart disease.

Co-author Dr Duck-chul Lee, a professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University, told The New York Times that after this study was released, the team was hounded with questions wondering if other activities, such as walking, were as beneficial.

High-mileage runners also questioned if they were overperforming and if, at some point, running would actually contribute to premature mortality.

After analyzing the data in the new study, scientists determined that hour for hour, running statistically returns more time to people's lives than it consumes.

In The Cooper Institute study, participants reported an average of two hours running per week. 

The amount ran over the course of 40 years would add up to fewer than six months, but it could increase life expectancy by more than three years.

The researchers also determined that if every non-runner who had been part of the reviewed studies took up the sport, there would have been 16 percent fewer deaths over all, and 25 percent fewer fatal heart attacks. 

Other types of exercise were also found to be beneficial. Walking and cycling dropped the risk of premature death by about 12 percent. 

Dr Lee says scientists remain uncertain as to why running helps with longevity. But he says it's likely because the sport combats many common risk factors for early death, including high blood pressure and extra body fat, especially around the middle. It also raises aerobic fitness, one of the best-known indicators for long-term health.

Running, however, does not make you immortal and the life expectancy rates don't increase beyond three years.

Improvements in life expectancy generally plateaued at about four hours of running per week, Dr Lee said. But they did not decline.  

Also read:

• Want to improve your memory? Then go for a morning jog
• Doctors explain how hiking actually changes our brains
• EXERCISE is the fountain of youth

Running too hard? Light jogging linked with living longer

There's good news for those who adhere to the "slow and steady wins the race" adage: A light jog a few times a week may help you live longer, a new study from Denmark suggests. In contrast, running too hard may have drawbacks, the study found.

Researchers analyzed information from about 1,000 healthy joggers ages 20 to 86, and about 400 people who were healthy, but did not jog, and were mostly sedentary.

The analysis showed that light joggers were about 78% less likely to die over the 12-year study than those who were sedentary. "Light joggers" were defined as those who ran at a speed of about 5 mph (8 km/h) a few times a week, for less than 2.5 hours per week total.

In contrast, those who jogged strenuously were just as likely to die during the study period as those who were sedentary, according to the research published today (Feb. 2) in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Strenuous joggers were defined as those who ran at a speed of more than 7 mph (11 km/h), for more than four hours per week.

The finding "suggests there may be an upper limit for exercise dosing that is optimal for health benefits," study co-author Dr. Peter Schnohr, of the Copenhagen City Heart Study and Frederiksberg Hospital in Denmark, said in a statement. "If your goal is to decrease risk of death and improve life expectancy, jogging a few times a week at a moderate pace is a good strategy. Anything more is not just unnecessary, it may be harmful."

Dr. Karol Watson, co-director of preventive cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, agreed, and said that many previous studies have produced similar findings: A moderate amount of jogging is linked with the best outcomes in terms of a longer life span, but when people run too far for too long, the health benefits start to drop off.

"[Humans] weren't meant to do mountain biking or marathon running every day... and you don't have to" to live longer, said Watson, who was not involved in the study.

Being a marathon runner is still likely going to be good for heart health overall, but those runners should be aware that there is a slight increase in mortality over a given period for extreme runners compared to moderate runners, Watson said.

Other experts stress that more research is needed to determine whether there really is an upper limit on how much exercise is good for you.

"The goal is not to unnecessarily frighten people who wish to participate in more-strenuous exercise," Duck-chul Lee, of Iowa State University's Department of Kinesiology, and colleagues, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study in the journal. Although most research suggests that, beyond a certain point, more physical activity is not necessarily better, "we still need more data to truly determine 'is more actually worse?'" they said.

The authors of the editorial also noted that in the new study, the "strenuous" jogging group included only 40 people, while the other groups included hundreds. If the study had included more people who jogged strenuously, the researchers may have found a link between strenuous jogging and a decreased risk of dying during the study, the editorial authors said. Also, the study relied on participants' own reports of how much they run, which may not have been entirely accurate.

The study's authors offered a possible explanation for the negative effects linked to strenuous exercise in the results. It could be that long-term, strenuous endurance exercise has harmful effects on the heart, the researchers said. Some studies of marathon runners have found that these athletes have a higher rate of heart scarring than people who don't run marathons.

The study also adds to a growing body of evidence that has shown that even small amounts of exercise can have health benefits. In the study, people who jogged less than one hour a week were less likely to die than those who didn't jog at all.

The best outcomes in the study were associated with running between 1 and 2.4 hours per week, with no more than three days of running per week, at an average or slow pace. "Many adults will perceive this to be a goal that is practical, achievable and sustainable," the researchers said. 

[livescience]