Healthy living
Anti-ageing
Lounging around could speed up ageing process
Following a couch potato lifestyle could leave you 10 years biologically older than your more active peers, according to research published in the journal, Archives of Internal Medicine
It’s already well known that regular exercise helps to cut the risk of many diseases including heart disease, cancer and diabetes. But this new research is the first to suggest that keeping fit can have an effect on the ageing process too.
A team of scientists at King’s College London studied 2,401 twins who were asked detailed questions about their lifestyles. These included how much exercise they did and whether or not they smoked. The team then took blood samples in order to analyse their DNA.
The researchers were particularly interested in the length of special chain-like structures called telomeres - which protect DNA on chromosomes. These get shorter as we get older and are thought to be a good marker of the biological age of a person. The team found that the participants who were less physically active had shorter telomeres than people who were fit. In fact the results showed that there was a difference of about 10 years of ageing between the most active and the least active volunteers. When the researchers compared twins who had different levels of physical activity, they found similar results.
Exercise bestowed the same anti-ageing benefits even when other factors were taken into account such as weight, smoking and socio-economic status.
'Inactivity may diminish life expectancy not only by predisposing to ageing-related diseases but also because it may influence the ageing process itself,' reported the team.
So why does keeping fit keep you young? The scientists believe that people who do little exercise are more exposed to oxidative stress, which damages cells. Exercise also helps to relieve psychological stress which is known to hasten the ageing process.
‘Guidelines recommend that 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity at least five days a week can have significant health benefits,’ the authors write. ‘Our results underscore the vital importance of these guidelines. They show that adults who partake in regular physical activity are biologically younger than sedentary individuals. This conclusion provides a powerful message that could be used by clinicians to promote the potential anti-ageing effect of regular exercise.’
'We would encourage everyone to take responsibility for their own fitness,' says Katherine Murphy, spokesperson for the Patients Association. 'However the government should do more to promote exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle.'
Useful articles
- The exercise prescription: find out how much is enough
- How young are you really? Find out with our light-hearted quiz
- Thirty ways to live a longer and healthier life
- Strong arm tactics for a longer life
- Lose ten years in an instant
- Healthy lifestyle could add 14 years to your life
- Are you having a bad age day?
Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
