Exercise - The Key to Youth
Exercise may hold the key to youth according to a study which shows that people who keep fit are up to nine years biologically younger than those who do not. The findings are the first to show how keeping fit affects the ageing process in humans. Researchers from King’s College, London wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine about a study of 2401 twins and found that a sedentary lifestyle raises the risk of a range of problems from heart disease to cancer, and appears to play a key role in the ageing process.
Their research shows that the length of structures called telomeres, which protects the DNA on the chromosomes, get shorter over time, suggesting the cells are ageing or dying. The study, which extracted a DNA sample from volunteers, found people who exercised more each week had longer telomeres. “It’s not just walking around the block. It’s really working up a sweat” said Tim Spector, a genetic epidemiologist who led the study.
The study found that people who exercise vigorously for three hours each week had longer telomeres and were biologically nine years younger than people who exercised for less than 15 minutes. Spector’s team, who adjusted their findings for body weight, smoking, economic status and physical activity at work, also said moderate exercise for one and 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 sped up.
Studying twins also provided a unique opportunity to gauge the effects of exercise on people with the same or similar genetic make-up and background, the researchers said. The reason why exercise has this effect is not clear, but the researchers said they thought activity somehow defended against the natural process called oxidative stress, which damages and kills cells.
I found this study interesting because it shows that in order to achieve optimum health and longevity, we need to take an holistic view of our body. What we put into our body, in the way of food, goes a long way to keeping us healthy, but we also need to include exercise as a part of our regular routine. Regular exercise not only keeps our body in shape, it also keeps our minds in shape by making us more positive and cheerful. A strong healthy body and a strong healthy and positive mind is the best first defence against disease.
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And I was just woendnrig about that too!