People who exercise four hours a week live an average of seven years longer than people who exercise less than two hours per week, concludes a new study based on data collected from the Østerbro Study, which has followed the lives of a group of Danes since 1976.

The findings, published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, are based on the exercise habits of over 5,000 people. It is the first time scientists have been able to translate the number of hours exercised into additional years.

'Most people know that their health improves and they live longer if they exercise, but what's new is that we can calculate how many years you gain by exercising,' said cardiologist Peter Schnohr to daily newspaper Politiken.

Dr. Schnohr, who led the study, said the results reconfirm that exercise prevents hardening of the arteries.
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For those concerned that they were unable to exercise at a high enough level to benefit from it, Dr. Schnohr had this to say:

'A lot of people think they need to go out and run a marathon everyday to obtain the health benefits of exercise, but that's not necessary. The biggest gain comes when you get up from the sofa and start doing something.'

Why do I have a feeling that "doing something" doesn't include blogging?