Endurance exercise improves metabolic health and prevents many age-related chronic diseases, but researchers have not been clear on why.
A new study suggests that the explanation may lie in specific cellular changes that give a 50-year-old a similar ageing profile to a 25-year-old.
The research, published in Nature journal NPJ Aging, was sparked by a chance conversation between colleagues.
Longevity expert Professor Luigi Fontana was working at Washington University in St. Louis at the time, studying the effect of calorie restriction on cell senescence, which is the process where cells stop dividing but do not die. Instead, senescent cells secrete pro-cancer and pro-inflammatory proteins. As we age, we accumulate more of these cells, a process which is hastened by smoking, exposure to pollution, UV damage, alcohol, excessive calorie intake, and decreased physical activity.
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