Any amount of running is linked to a significantly lower risk of death from any cause, finds a pooled analysis of the available evidence, according to recent reports. If more people took up running — and they wouldn’t have to run far or fast — there would likely be substantial improvements in population health and longevity, conclude the researchers. It’s not clear how good running is for staving off the risk of death from any cause and particularly from cardiovascular disease and cancer, say the researchers. Nor is it clear how much running a person needs to do to reap these potential benefits, nor whether upping the frequency, duration, and pace — in other words, increasing the ‘dose’ — might be even more advantageous. Even small ‘doses’ — for example, once weekly or less, lasting less than 50 minutes each time, and at a speed below 6 miles (8 km) an hour, still seemed to be associated with significant health/longevity benefits. So running for 25 minutes less than the recommended weekly duration of vigorous physical activity could reduce the risk of death. This makes running a potentially good option for those whose main obstacle to doing enough exercise is lack of time, suggest the researchers.

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