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Last Updated: Apr 16, 2008 - 5:52:06 PM |
TUESDAY JAN 29, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- A new study suggests that being physically active may help people stay biologically ten years younger although it still is unclear whether the finding means people who are physically active may actually live ten years longer than those who are not active.
The study led by Lynn F. Cherkas, Ph.D., of King's College London, and colleagues found people who did 199 minutes a week of vigorous physical exercise had 200 more nucleotides in their leukocyte telomeres compared to those who did 16 minutes per week only.
Leukocyte telomeres are known to get shortened with age. With each year passing, the length of telomeres becomes 20 nucleotides shorter. The loss of 200 nucleotides is equivalent to passing of 10 years.
This means people who were physically active were biologically younger, but it can't be said just yet that people may extend their lifespan by increasing their exercise, a foodconsumer.org scientist cautioned.
For the study published in the January 28, 2008 issue of Archives of International Medicine, the researchers analyzed DNA samples from 2,401 white twins for the length of leukocyte telomeres and surveyed their physical activity level, smoking habits and socioeconomic status.
They found those who perfumed 199 minutes of physical activity per week had an average of 200 more nucleotides in telomeres than those who did only 16 minutes a week.
"Such a relationship between leukocyte telomere length and physical activity level remained significant after adjustment for body mass index, smoking, socioeconomic status and physical activity at work," the researchers write in their report.
Does the result of the study suggest that the longer telomeres were retained because they did more exercise? Scientists believe this study alone cannot conclude that there is any causal relation between physical exercise and retention of nucleotides in telomeres, meaning exercise does not necessarily extend one’s life.
"A sedentary lifestyle increases the propensity to aging-related disease and premature death," the authors write in their report. They claim "Inactivity may diminish life expectancy not only by predisposing to aging-related diseases but also because it may influence the aging process itself."
But the association between a sedentary lifestyle and rapid aging is not necessarily a cause-and-effect relation.
In an accompanying editorial, Jack M. Guralnik, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Md., writes "Persons who exercise are different from sedentary persons in many ways, and although certain variables were adjusted for in this analysis, many additional factors could be responsible for the biological differences between active and sedentary persons, a situation referred to by epidemiologists as residual confounding."
One thing the study did not reveal, which may have an effect on the length of telomeres, is the healthy status of the subjects, according to a foodconsumer.org scientist who is not part of the research team. He said the researchers failed to explain why one twin was less physically active than another in the first place.
More research is needed to confirm that exercise helps keep the length of telomeres, the researchers acknowledged.
Regardless, regular exercise lowers rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, obesity and osteoporosis, according to background information in the article.
Exercise or being physically active promotes production of nitric oxide which helps dilate the blood vessels, a good thing for cardiovascular health; increase circulation of oxygen, providing an anticancer effect; and deliver all types of micronutrients to maintain optimal health, the foodconsumer.org scientist said.
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