Improvement of biological age by physical activity

Abstract

While physical inactivity has been associated with greater mortality [ [1] Huffman M.D. Lloyd-Jones D.M. Ning H. et al. Quantifying options for reducing coronary heart disease mortality by 2020. Circulation. 2013; 127: 2477-2484 Crossref PubMed Scopus (53) Google Scholar ], physical activity leads to a reduction in mortality even when exercise starts relatively late during lifetime [ [2] Byberg L. Melhus H. Gedeborg R. et al. Total mortality after changes in leisure time physical activity in 50 year old men: 35 year follow-up of population based cohort. BMJ. 2009; 338: b688 Crossref PubMed Scopus (183) Google Scholar ]. Telomere shortening and increased p16INK4a expression are markers of biological age and indicate the loss of regenerative capacity. Shorter telomeres are associated with an increased cardiovascular risk [ 3 Krauss J. Farzaneh-Far R. Puterman E. et al. Physical fitness and telomere length in patients with coronary heart disease: findings from the Heart and Soul Study. PLoS One. 2011; 6: e26983 Crossref PubMed Scopus (53) Google Scholar , 4 Willeit P. Willeit J. Brandstatter A. et al. Cellular aging reflected by leukocyte telomere length predicts advanced atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease risk. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2010; 30: 1649-1656 Crossref PubMed Scopus (221) Google Scholar ] and cardiovascular mortality [ [5] Cawthon R.M. Smith K.R. O'Brien E. Sivatchenko A. Kerber R.A. Association between telomere length in blood and mortality in people aged 60 years or older. Lancet. 2003; 361: 393-395 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1347) Google Scholar ]. Cross sectional data suggested that regular physical exercise in male athletes is associated with maintaining longer telomeres [ [6] Werner C. Furster T. Widmann T. et al. Physical exercise prevents cellular senescence in circulating leukocytes and in the vessel wall. Circulation. 2009; 120: 2438-2447 Crossref PubMed Scopus (251) Google Scholar ]. We addressed the question whether physical activity affects telomere length (TL) and p16INK4a expression by investigating 59 healthy middle-aged men (45–65 years old; mean age: 53 ± 6 years) with former sedentary life-style in a prospective longitudinal study. A questionnaire confirmed sedentary lifestyle with an average of 5.1 (±10.2) metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-weighted hours per week for physical activity. Subjects were encouraged to perform 210 min of endurance training per week.