09 Mar Exercise actually proven to slow aging process

By now most of us should know that regular exercise can lead to a more healthy life. People generally know that exercise can help improve the health of your heart, muscles, lungs and even prevent some forms of cancer.
But did you know there have been studies that actually appear to prove that exercise helps slow the overall aging process?
One such study conducted several years ago involved more than 2,400 British twins, and found for the first time that exercise appears to slow the shriveling of the protective tips on bundles of genes inside cells. Basically, working out can help slow down the withering process that eventually hits us all if we live to be old enough.
“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, in a statement published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The telomeres from white blood cells collected from the twins participating in a long-term health study, helped determine if a pattern existed between the subjects’ telomere length and how much exercise they got in their spare time over a 10-year period.
The length of subjects’ telomeres were found to be directly related to their activity levels, the study concluded.
Twins who exercised the most had telomeres found to appear about 9-10 years younger than those who did the least.
As if there weren’t enough reasons to exercise regularly, that study should certainly go to the top of then list: Regular exercise will keep you younger.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com