Healthy Telomeres
Exercise!
"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"
Dylan ThomasRecent news from the "JAMA - Archives of Internal Medicine" study revealed "The Association Between Physical Activity in Leisure Time and Leuckocyte Telomere Length LTL."
Dylan ThomasRecent news from the "JAMA - Archives of Internal Medicine" study revealed "The Association Between Physical Activity in Leisure Time and Leuckocyte Telomere Length LTL."
Fact: The lack of physical inactivity is a relevant risk factor for many aging-related diseases and premature deaths. Moreover, as we age, our telomeres decrease.
The hypothesis tested stated that " physical activity level in leisure time [over the past 12 months) is related to leukocyte telomere length in healthy volunteers."
The group of experimental volunteers consisted of 2,401 white female twins and 249 male twins. Moreover, the factors considered in the study: physical activity level, age, sex, body mass index, smoking, and socioeconomic status.
The results proved that the group of twins who exercised just 199 minutes a week, or 33.17 minutes six days a week, showed 88 nucleotides in the growth of their telomere length.
The conclusion " A sedentary lifestyle [in addition to smoking, high body mass, and low socioeconomic status) affects leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and may accelerate the aging process."
I am indeed an advocate of exercising. When I walk 5 miles in my leisure time( 75 min.) six days a week during the months of May through September, I drop two dress sizes; can eat anything I want (as a treat); lose belly fat; gain strength and my whole body firms.
Therefore, I do look younger than my age. Although looking younger is not my motivation for exercising, "survival of the fittest" is my motivation; it is a keen knowledge that exercise keeps your telomeres growing, thus slows the aging process.
