Who runs the world? Hopefully all of us

The best exercise is one that you enjoy and will commit to do regularly.

And for most, this is running.

Even a little running pays huge dividends

With new exercises invented every week, new gurus trending by the day and a fresh study that contradicts all the other ones released every time you think you're getting the hang of things, it's easy to become overwhelmed and think that fitness is confusing - but it doesn't need to be. Especially not when you make running your choice of activity.

Once you start running - and not necessarily far either - running becomes about healthy living habits, and, says new research, so much more.

The physical demands of running affect just about every system of the body in a beneficial way. Take the cardiovascular system. Running forces it to adapt by generating more capacity. You grow more capillaries and small arteries, and that helps lower your blood pressure. (High blood pressure and strokes are major causes of health problems and death.) Running is also good at guarding against cancer, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and dementia and offsets symptoms of depression and anxiety.

You might be looking at all of the above benefits and thinking "okay, but how much do I have to run?" The good news is that these life-lengthening benefits come at a lower mileage than you may think. In a recent study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers reviewed 14 previously published studies, which included over 230,000 participants whose health had been tracked for 5 to 35 years. They found that doing any amount of running is good for you.

The study also found that runners had a 27% lower risk of early death from any cause, a 30% lower risk of early death from cardiovascular problems and a 23% lower risk of early death from cancer. It showed that these benefits could be gained from running just once a week, for at least 50 minutes a week.

What's also encouraging is if we take the results of this study, combined with insights from work published by RAND Europe and Vitality, "The economic impact of a physically active population", increasing activity could contribute greatly to the world economy, impact people's quality of life and boost overall productivity.

The RAND study found that the world's GDP would gain more than $100bn each year until 2050 if people:

• walked 15 minutes more a day;
• did a slow jog of one kilometre a day, or;
• took 1,500 extra steps a day.

This economic improvement comes from lower mortality rates (more people alive and contributing to the economy), reduced absenteeism, and lower presentism (being at work, but less productive) driven by the impact of physical activity on mental health.

The impact of this is considerable. On an individual level, just 10 minutes of jogging every day would add an extra two and a half years to our lives, plus that time alive would more likely be disease-free. And on a collective level, people would be adding $100bn each year to the global economy.

For South Africa, the positive knock-on effect on the economy of an increase in physical activity is equally acute. The RAND study shows that if South Africa succeeds in getting 20% of adults more active over the next 30 years, the average GDP will increase by $500m; and if all inactive people reach the minimum WHO physical activity levels, GDP can increase by as much as $2.1bn.

No matter where you are in life and what your fitness is like, being physically active as regularly as you can will improve your quality of life. So, let's get moving!