New
research shows a major advantage for those who are highly active
Brigham Young
University
Despite their best
efforts, no scientist has ever come close to stopping humans from aging. Even
anti-aging creams can't stop Old Father Time.
But new research from
Brigham Young University reveals you may be able to slow one type of aging --
the kind that happens inside your cells. As long as you're willing to sweat.
"Just because
you're 40, doesn't mean you're 40 years old biologically," Tucker said.
"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."
The study, published
in the medical journal Preventive Medicine, finds that people who
have consistently high levels of physical activity have significantly longer
telomeres than those who have sedentary lifestyles, as well as those who are
moderately active.
Telomeres are the protein endcaps of our chromosomes. They're like our biological clock and they're extremely correlated with age; each time a cell replicates, we lose a tiny bit of the endcaps. Therefore, the older we get, the shorter our telomeres.
Exercise science
professor Larry Tucker found adults with high physical activity levels have
telomeres with a biological aging advantage of nine years over those who are
sedentary, and a seven-year advantage compared to those who are moderately
active. To be highly active, women had to engage in 30 minutes of jogging per
day (40 minutes for men), 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," Tucker said. "You have to work out
regularly at high levels."
Tucker analyzed data
from 5,823 adults who participated in the CDC's National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey, one of the few indexes that includes telomere length values
for study subjects.
The index also includes data for 62 activities participants
might have engaged in over a 30-day window, which Tucker analyzed to calculate
levels of physical activity.
His study found the
shortest telomeres came from sedentary people -- they had 140 base pairs of DNA
less at the end of their telomeres than highly active folks.
Surprisingly, he
also found there was no significant difference in telomere length between those
with low or moderate physical activity and the sedentary people.
Although the exact
mechanism for how exercise preserves telomeres is unknown, Tucker said it may
be tied to inflammation and oxidative stress.
Previous studies have shown
telomere length is closely related to those two factors and it is known that
exercise can suppress inflammation and oxidative stress over time.
"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 said.
