Exercise or constant activity has always been the last word or among the first recommendations in countering the signs of aging. The aging that has been associated with exercise is termed as biological age and is used to mean as our age that is physiological rather than chronological, and it includes factors like changes in the physical structure of the body as well as changes in the performance of motor skills and sensory awareness.
Exercise has been considered the fountain of youth to some as they claim that exercise help them look and feel young, or something measurable as to say that exercise makes them 10 to 20 years younger than their chronological age by being free from mental and physical disease longer than they expected, or at least as compared to unhealthy individuals who fall on the same chronological age bracket. , 3 Though these associations have long been well established, we still see people even the healthiest continue to age and deteriorate.
These compel us to look for a more concrete evidence or solid foundation for our hopes to finally counter the cause. 2009, with telomerase being accepted as true is seen by many as the dawning of new light. But of course not without cons… Introduction Our bodies’ natural tendency to grow old is inescapable and our attempt to counter it would seem a waste of time and resources.
But while we do not deny that fact, and I personally do not dread growing old, new information tell us we could at least “extend” our youth, enjoy more of life, and as the truth continue to unfold, we may be surprised to know it is actually within reach and all we have to do is simply and literally, sweat it out. Body The important role of exercise as anti-aging can be translated as its power to generate variety of hormonal responses. Hormones are responsible for muscle turnover, growth of tissue and repair, and selective aspects of metabolic functions that will result to the maintenance of body composition in later life. 5 The discovery about telomere biology in 2009 adds more life to this claim. Telomeres are essential to cell division.
They allow the cells to divide without losing genes. However, they get shorter each time, and when they get too short, a cell can no longer divide and becomes inactive or dies. In germline cells, telomeres are maintained by enzymes alled telomerase which is responsible for their “immortality”. 6 But in somatic cells, telomerase tend to be slower or undetected, the reason why they [somatic cells] age, so does the body. 7 Perspective I Recent studies hold that exercise boosts the activation of the enzyme telomerase. One in Germany showed the association of increase in telomerase activity and reduced telomere loss to almost 75% with the athletes who had trained for several decades as compared to their sedentary counterpart in age.
Physical activity in mice also showed regulation of telomere-stabilizing proteins that protects them from stress-induced vascular apoptosis. 8 A study in 2008 about the relationship between physical activity level, telomere length, and telomerase activity revealed that moderate physical activity level may provide a protective effect on Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) telomere length having significantly greater telomerase enzyme activity as compared to both high and low Exercise Energy Expenditure level. 9 Perspective II Despite wide acceptance of the theory of exercise’s relationship with telomere biology, there are others who remained skeptical about it and maintained that further study must be rendered, or more evidence is needed.
One recent study on subjects after completion of the Yale Physical Activity Survey did not observe a significant association between telomerase activity and the level of physical activity. 10 In an animal study of strenuous exercise training and telomerase enzyme activity in skeletal muscle, it was observed that mild or strenuous exercise training in rats did not significantly change telomerase enzyme activity. 1 Another write up that is worth looking up into says that we have given much credit to telomerase as if it’s the only factor in telomere lengthening. Several proteins have been named to take part in telomere’s forming of stable loop structure. They combine to either facilitate or inhibit telomerase lengthening of telomeres. It will be premature to assume that increased expression of telomerase will by itself simply and safely result in longer cell telomeres. 12
Conclusion and Author’s Perspective Lab tests on both human and animals, in vitro or in vivo, have spoken: urther tests and more evidence are needed. What happen on the labs are facts, and they speak of exercises’ or physical activities’ effect on telomerase activity varies, as there are also different groups of cells in the body. This, to me, simply means that staying young by way of exercise goes beyond its relationship to telomere biology. There could be other contributing factors like there are different types or levels of exercise too. Being young or staying young as a benefit coming from exercise encompasses more than one aspect. We can fight aging more than just in the molecular level.