Gentle jog can 'add years to life'

Running for just five to 10 minutes a few times a week could add three years to your life, researchers have found.

They say gentle exercise is as important for good health as stopping smoking.

A study over 15 years of 55000 people aged 18 to 100 found that joggers overall were 30% less likely to die than couch potatoes.

They were also 45% less likely to die of a heart attack or stroke.

The findings, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, show that even a small amount of exercise is beneficial.