You probably know about telomeres by now. Animal studies are very convincing that telomere length can determine how long the animal lives. As I’ve shown you multiple times, this is true for humans as well.
So it seems reasonable to do whatever you can to maintain the length of your telomeres as you get older. But how are you going to do that?
One study shows a method of dramatically protecting your telomeres that, guess what — costs nothing per day.
Recently, researchers published the results of their study to determine how important physical activity is for telomere length.
To do the study they measured the telomere lengths of a total of 5,823 men and women. And then compared the results to their level of physical activity. The researchers divided the levels of activity into four groups: high, moderate, low, and sedentary. The results were amazing.
The men and women in the high activity category had telomere lengths that were nine years younger than the sedentary adults. The difference between the high activity and the low activity folks was almost the same — 8.8 years. And here’s the really surprising thing. The difference between those with high and moderate was also huge — 7.1 years. In terms of telomere length, moderate levels of exercise had very little advantage over just being sedentary. Only high levels of exercise had a significant effect.
According to the authors, “Overall, physical activity was significantly and meaningfully associated with telomere length in U.S. men and women. Evidently, adults who participate in high levels of physical activity tend to have longer telomeres, accounting for years of reduced cellular aging compared to their more sedentary counterparts.”
So, here’s the question. How hard do you need to exercise in order to be in that enviable high-activity group?
On average, the men and women in the high-activity group ran for 30 to 40 minutes a day, five days a week. Add it up and that comes to about 2½ hours per week of fairly intensive exercise. Anything less than that virtually negated the telomere effect.
According to lead researcher Dr. Larry Tucker, “If you want to see a real difference in slowing your biological aging, it appears a little exercise won’t cut it. You have to work out regularly at high levels. We know that regular physical activity helps to reduce mortality and prolong life, and now we know part of that advantage may be due to the preservation of telomeres.
Sources:
Tucker LA. Prev Med. 2017 Jul;100:145-151. Physical activity and telomere length in U.S. men and women: An NHANES investigation.