Exercise has always been prescribed as a necessary part of every day life. Exercise keeps the body fit, muscles strong and the heart active. Now it seems, according to a new study, exercise also has the ability to keep you younger, longer.
At the end of the
Chromosomes in
White Blood Cells, there are segments called telomeres. As the body ages, these telomeres shorten. It has been thought the true biological age of the body could be gauged by the length of the telomeres. The shorter the telomere, the older the bodies biological age and vice versa.
The study linking exercise to biological youth was conducted comparing the telomeres in more than 2,400 Caucasian twins. Taking in to account an average loss of 21 nucleotides per year, sedentary individuals in the study exhibited telomeres 200 nucleotides shorter than individuals that performed some form of exercise on a daily or weekly basis. These 200 nucleotides could mean a biological age difference of nearly 10 years.
The results of the British study were adjusted for smoking, body mass index and socioeconomic status. Researchers believe the oxidation, which naturally occurs in the body, and
Stress may be to blame for the shortening of the telomeres. Relief from stress is commonly achieved with regular exercise.
While exercise recommendations in the United States suggest 30 minutes of exercise, 5 days a week, the British study included 199 minutes of exercise a week for the most active participants and only 16 minutes of exercise a week for the sedentary participants.
While more studies are needed to verifying the results of the British study and link the length of the telomere to the biological age of the body, these results are another reason to exercise on a regular basis.
