Jogging could actually be bad for you: Scientists find people who run a lot have shorter lifespans

People jogging (Photo:Courtesy)

By Mirror

UK: Couch potatoes have often argued exercise is a waste of time.

But new research backs them up and suggests jogging may be unhealthy.

Scientists in the USA found that the people who live for the longest are those who only do a moderate amount of exercise.

This amounts to two to three hours of running a week.

But the research showed that people who do a lot of running, and those who do none, both have shorter lifespans.

The researchers are unsure why this is but say it does not seem to be related to heart health.

The researchers, from the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the Lehigh Valley Health Network, in Pennsylvania, studied more than 3,800 runners.

The participants were both men and women and had an average age of 46.

Nearly 70 per cent of the participants said they ran more than 20 miles a week.

The researchers took into account what medication the people were taking and also whether they had high blood pressure, high cholesterol or a history of smoking.

They found that none of these factors could be used to explain why the people who ran the furthest had shorter lifespans.

Dr James O'Keefe, who reviewed the research, believes the findings could be caused by 'wear and tear' on the bodies of people who do a lot of running.

He advises people to aim for about two and a half hours of slow to moderate paced running a week.