According to a study of almost 1,800 Swedish women who regularly run as an everyday lifestyle activity, the females in a widespread age group ranging from 15-60 years replied that their physical exertion was equally important as sex. As many as one in three were more passionate for running, in fact, than for the more horizontally inclined action they found in the bedroom.

Conducted by the ladies' fitness publication, "iForm," the survey also revealed that the exercise-prone women would rather trot along than shop, have coffee, watch television or even talk on the phone...and many replied that running was on a par with being with friends and family.

Karen Lyager Horvat, editor of the exercise magazine, described running as something in the line of being a panacea because, in relatively short time, ladies can boost their physical fitness, regain a healthy weight, have less stress and achieve general happiness and contentment.

Most of the women who answered the survey said that they ran around three times a week for a distance of about three miles (five kilometers), although a general daydream was to one day enter a marathon. Most popular accessories for the jaunts of the gentler gender were MP3 players, dictation recording devices and mobile phones.