Five reasons why you should lace up those jogging shoes

Though running may not cure everything, it's been linked to all sorts of health benefits, emotional perks and even disease prevention.

Here, five reasons to hop on the treadmill during your next lunch break.

1. IT'S SO EASY

True, some high-tech gear will make your run more fun, but

really, all you need is a good pair of shoes. And while you may not

have perfect form yet, you already know how to place one foot in

front of the other and settle into a comfortable pace. No new skills

to master, no equipment to buy - just get out there and run.

2. YET SO HARD

No other form of exercise matches running for its ability to soak that shirt. The stair-stepper, bike and other health club staples work you hard, but running blasts the most calories: In a study done by the Medical College of Wisconsin and the VA Medical Center, the treadmill (used at a "hard" exertion level) torched an average of 705 to 865 calories in an hour. The stair stepper (637 to 746), rower (606 to 739), cross-country ski machine (595 to 678) and stationary bike (498 to 604) were all lower in overall caloric burn.

Running also gives your ticker a world-class workout. When your

leg**** their stride, they squeeze blood toward your heart, which in

turn forces it to pump the blood right back. The faster you run, the

harder your heart works and the stronger it gets.

3. YOUR KNEE WILL THANK YOU

Contrary to what your mom says, running doesn't wreck your

joints. Osteoarthritis (the most common type of arthritis****urs

when joint-cushioning cartilage starts to breakdown. The biggest

osteoarthritis risk factor besides age? Body weight. A National

Health and Nutrition Examination Ssurvey found that obese women

had nearly four times the risk of knee osteoarthritis than non-obese

women; for men, it was five times the risk.  Runners are much more

likely to be at a normal weight than members of the sedentary population significantly decreasing their risk of osteoarthritis. It goes beyond the benefits of weight loss too. Running bolsters

your cartilage by increasing oxygen flow and flushing out toxins;

and by strengthening the ligaments around your joint****ting the trail

also gives your bones a boost, helping to prevent osteoporosis.

4. IT CAN PREVENT DISEASE

Most experts agree that regular exercise reduces the risk

of many kinds of cancer, including colon, breast and lung. One recent

study in the British Journal of Cancer calculated that the "most active"

(e.g. walked briskly five to six hours/week) people were 24 percent less

likely to develop colon cancer than the "least active" people (e.g. 30

minutes of walking/week). In a study by the National Cancer Institute,

'women of a normal weight *****ported the highest levels of

"vigorous activity" had about a 30 percent lower risk of breast cancer

when compared with women who did no vigorous activity .

Running has also been shown to lower blood pressure, raise good

cholesterol and boost immunity to colds and other viruses.

5. YOU'LL PROBABLY LIVE LONGER

A team at the StanfordUniversity School of Medicine studied

538 runners and 423 healthy non-runners from 1984 until 2005. All

of the subjects were over 50 and were asked to take a disability

questionnaire each year measuring simple tasks like shampooing

hair and opening a milk carton . Every year, the disability levels were

significantly lower in the group of runners than in the non-runners,

and they became more different as both groups aged; Even more interesting? At the end of the study, 85 percent of the runners were still

alive, while only 66 percent of the non-runners were.