Need some motivation to get up from the chair and become more physically active? Here’s a new research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which revealed that changes in time spent being sedentary could causes changes in the DNA that can slow down the ageing process.
The fact that tiny caps protecting the ends of the DNA, telomeres, shorten in length as the cell ages, accelerated this research, where the effect of sedentary lifestyle on the length of the DNA was observed.
For the study, scientists from Sweden involved a group of sedentary, obese volunteers, all aged 68. They ithdrew blood from the participants to extract the DNA from their cells. The length of telomeres, end caps that protect the DNA from shortening, was measures.
Half of the volunteers were subjected to an individualised exercise regimen to improve their overall health. They were advised to follow a less sedentary lifestyle and sit less. Rest of the volunteers continued to follow their routine.
After a period of six months, blood was withdrawn from all the participants to analyse the telomere ends of the DNA in their cells. It was found that volunteers who were getting active and sitting the least had lengthened telomere ends in their cells. Their cells seemed to be growing physiologically younger. Participants who had continued with their routine sedentary habits had comparatively shorter telomeres.
However, there was hardly any correlation between exercising and telomere length. Participants who exercised the most during the study had slightly less lengthening of telomere, compared to those who exercised less in the active group.
