Soccer healthier than jogging, Danish study finds

Sports medicine researcher Peter Krustup reported "the very surprising results" in Copenhagen, which showed that amateur soccer players who played two to three times a week for three months enjoy significantly better health than joggers.

 Together with experts from Copenhagen University's Sports Institute and the Rigshospitalet hospital, Kustrup observed and scientifically controlled two groups of men for three months. Each group consisted of 14 non-athletes who participated in regular soccer or jogging.

 At the end of the period, the soccer players had lost an average of 3.5 kilogrammes of fat and gained two kilogrammes in muscle mass. The joggers had lost an average of two kilogrammes of fat without gaining muscle mass. The soccer players also scored better on other fitness scales.

 Kustrup explained the differences by noting that soccer players "change their tempo frequently, between jogging and sprinting." The playful aspect of soccer played a role.

 "Joggers found it all very hard. The soccer players got into it easily."//dpa