If you want to stay young - exercise!
01/02/2008
Recent research about the link between exercise and aging will be music to the ears of health clubs and ramblers alike. A unique study of 2,402 twins found people who keep fit are up to nine years biologically younger than those who do not - and are less likely to develop conditions such as heart disease and cancer.
Apparently it all boils down to the length of structures called telomeres - which protect the DNA on the chromosomes. The longer the telomeres, the less aging happens - and in the study by King's College London, people who exercised vigorously three hours each week had longer telomeres and were biologically nine years younger than people who did under fifteen minutes.
Lead study author Tim Spector, a genetic epidemiologist, emphasised: "It's not just walking around the block - it is really working up a sweat."
Spector's team, who also adjusted for body weight, smoking, economic status and physical activity at work, also said moderate exercise for one an a half hours each week provided a four-year advantage. "We are making a logical next step to say people who have shorter telomeres are more prone to age-related diseases," he said. "We think it is because these cells are auto-destructing and the ageing process is speeded up."
The choice of studying twins provided a unique opportunity to gauge the effects of exercise on people with the same or similar genetic make-up and backgrounds. Although uncertain as to the exact reasons why exercise increases longevity, the researchers said they believe physical activity somehow defends against the natural process called oxidative stress, which damages and kills cells.
The King's College London study appears in Archives of Internal Medicine, or visit the website linked below.