day - would you do it?

Hey guys, Tara here for Dnews - and I’ll admit it: I’m not a runner. I tried to run

a half-marathon back in 2008, but then I injured my knee and it all went to hell. So imagine

my surprise, when a new study pops up this week in the Journal of the American College

of Cardiology - that says you don’t have to go the distance, to reap the benefits of

running. Turns out, all it takes - is 7 minutes a day!

The article shares the results of a 15-year-long cohort study of over 55,000 adults, to see

whether running could reduce someone’s risk of death from anything - not just heart disease.

Now because it is a cohort study, it can’t technically conclude that running is what

causes the reduced risk of death - but the correlation is there, and it paints a pretty

clear picture.

People who run, even in modest amounts, of 51 minutes a week - were found to have a 45%

reduction in the risk of cardiovascular-related death, and a 30% overall reduction in any

type of death, compared to non-runners. This means that, on average, running can increase

someone’s life expectancy by about three years.

Now 51 minutes a week, or about 7 minutes a day - isn’t exactly a tall order. But

the study also took other factors into account - like distance, and speed - and found that

even they don’t make much of a difference at all. Even a light jog can significantly

reduce one’s mortality risk. Although they did find that persistent runners - people

who do it regularly - had the best outcomes, with an average 50% reduction in cardiovascular-related

deaths, and 29% reduction in overall mortality.

Pretty impressive. Although it is worth noting that while certain things were adjusted for

- like age, smoking, alcohol consumption, and family history of heart disease - diet

was not adjusted for, which can have a pretty big influence on someone’s health status.

Researchers also note that while it is a big study, most of the people who participated

were white, middle-to-upper class adults. So it’s not totally clear how their results

apply to other populations.

In any case, it’s still promising to know that even the most minimal amount of exercise

can have positive effects on your health. And hopefully, that’ll encourage some of

us - myself included - to not be so intimidated by the thought of working out. I’m sure

all of us out there would agree that 7 minutes a day - is something we can all make time for.

What do you guys think? Is exercise less scary to you now? Let us know your thoughts in the

comments below, and as always - thank you guys for watching!