Physically active people are biologically
younger than the couch potatoes, a study published Monday in the
Archives of Internal Medicine has found.(File Photo)
Physically active people are biologically younger than the couch
potatoes, a study published Monday in the Archives of Internal
Medicine has found.
A long-term health study based on 2,401 twins found that those
who had an active lifestyle appeared to be as much as ten years
younger biologically than those of the more sedentary ones.
The researchers extracted DNA from the participants' white blood
cells and examined the chromosomes to determine the length of a
genetic sequence called telomeres, which were found at the ends of
chromosomes.
Telomeres get shorter when a cell divides. When telomeres get
too short, cells stop dividing. Aging occurs as more and more cells
reach the end of their telomeres and die.
The study suggested the moderately active subjects who averaged
100 minutes of physical activity a week had telomeres that on
average looked five or six years younger than the least active
subjects who averaged 16 minutes a week. Those who did the most --
doing 199 minutes on average a week had telomeres that appeared to
be about nine to ten years younger than those who did the
least.
"These data suggest that the act of exercising may actually
protect the body against the aging process," said Tim D. Spector, a
professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College in London who
led the study.
Physical activity can also reduce psychological stress, which
has also been linked to telomere length.
Researchers said they hoped doctors could use the findings to
encourage people to exercise.
"Hopefully, when clinicians are advising patients, this could be
another reason to offer," Spector said. "It may slow down the aging
process, and people may actually look and feel younger, which we
know would be a good thing for most of the population."
(Agencies via Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2008)
