Healthnotes Newswire (September 14, 2000)—Men who were joggers at both ends of a five-year period had a 63% lower risk of dying during the next 15–17 years of the study compared with men who did not jog, according to a Danish study published in the current issue of the British Medical Journal.¹

Men who were joggers at either the beginning or the end of the five-year period, but not both, did not have a significantly reduced death rate. These findings suggest that jogging is significantly protective only when done over extended periods of time. Only 2% of the 4,658 men in the trial were jogging at both the beginning and end of the five-year period.

The study was conducted in part because of concerns that jogging might cause deaths from overexertion. However, the findings of this report suggest that jogging is more than safe. If done with consistency, this form of exercise appears to protect against premature death.

Other behaviors of joggers might account for the protection—differences in diet or lifestyle, for example. Nonetheless, when factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol level, and body weight were accounted for, jogging at both ends of the five-year period continued to correlate strongly with a reduced risk of dying during the rest of the study.