Jogging can help you make strides towards a healthy heart

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Regular jogging could increase life expectancy, according to the findings of a new study.

The research in Denmark showed that between one to two-and-a-half hours of jogging each week at a slow or average pace could increase life expectancy.

Researchers compared the mortality of nearly 2,000 joggers to that of non-joggers and found regular jogging increased life expectancy of men by 6.2 years and women by 5.6 years.

All of the participants were part of the Copenhagen City Heart study which started in 1976 to help increase knowledge about heart and circulatory disease.

Staying active can help prevent and manage a wide variety of health conditions and keep your heart in great shape. Natasha Stewart, a Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Physical activity has long been associated with improved health and so it’s no surprise to see just how beneficial jogging could be.

"Staying active can help prevent and manage a wide variety of health conditions and keep your heart in great shape. It can help the way you look and feel today but could also help to protect your heart health in the future too."

The findings were presented at a conference organised by the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, part of the European Society of Cardiology.

If this article has given you the motivation to give jogging a go for the first time, your best starting point is through Run England - the official England Athletics recreational running project which aims to get the whole nation running. Regardless of your age, fitness level, aspiration, background, or location you can be a part of Run England and benefit from being a part of England's running community. Click here to join for free and here to find your local running group.

If you’re already a regular runner then you might want to step things up with a race or two – check out the runbritain online calendar for some ideas. If you’ve started to get more competitive then sign up for May’s runbritain Reward Running competition to be in with a chance of winning a prize for your efforts.