Runners live longer

If the Olympic track events inspire you to lace up your running shoes -- go for it! A new study shows that running -- and most likely other forms of moderate to vigorous physical activity -- prolongs life and reduces disability in old age.

Researchers at Stanford have found that runners appear less likely to become disabled and may survive longer than their non-running peers. They studied 284 members of a nationwide running club and 156 healthy controls recruited from the university. All participants were 50 or older when the study began in 1984. Each person completed a questionnaire each year through 2005 on exercise frequency, body mass index and disability level.

After 19 years, 15% of the runners had died compared to 34% of the control group. Disability levels were lower in runners at every time point. While disability rates increased for both groups over time, they increased at a slower rate in runners. The higher disability levels found in the control group participants "translate into important differences in overall daily functional limitations," the researchers said.

-- Shari Roan

Photo: Bryan McLellan/For the Los Angeles Times