Adults Who Exercise May Gain 9 'Biological' Years
Could regular,
strenuous exercise be a
"fountain of youth"? New research suggests it could be -- for your
cells, at least. "Just because you're 40 doesn't mean you're 40 years old
biologically," said Larry Tucker, a professor of exercise science
at Brigham Young University in Utah.
"We all
know people that seem younger than their actual age. The more physically active
we are, the less biological aging takes place in our bodies," Tucker said
in a university news release.
He and his
colleagues analyzed data from a survey of more than 5,800 Americans. The
researchers concluded that people with consistently high levels of physical
activity have significantly longer "telomeres" than those who are
moderately active or inactive.
Telomeres are
the protein endcaps on chromosomes. Each time a cell replicates, a tiny bit of the
endcap is lost. That means the older you get, the shorter your telomeres.
But telomeres
in adults with high levels of physical activity had seven years less aging than
those in moderately active adults. And the advantage was nine years compared
with inactive adults, the researchers concluded. The study authors defined
"highly active" as at least 30 minutes (women) or 40 minutes (men)
of jogging a day,
five days a week.
"If you
want to see a real difference in slowing your biological aging, it appears that
a little exercise won't cut it. You have to work out regularly at high
levels," Tucker said.
The study
doesn't actually prove that exercise delays telomere shortening. Still,
"we know that regular physical activity helps to reduce mortality and
prolong life, and now we know part of that advantage may be due to the
preservation of telomeres," Tucker added.
The study is
scheduled for publication in the July issue of the journal Preventive Medicine.
31.05.2017
Criticism of you isn't the truth
- it's just someone's opinion
Cindy Francis
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