Brisk walking slows down aging – Corriere.it

The question is asked by many: how to live longer (and healthier)? The elixir of life has yet to be found, but it appears that slowing down the biological aging process is possible. At least, according to a group of British researchers fromUniversity of Leicester who discovered a It connects the way we walk and how we age. Scholars who published work in Communication biology
They estimate that brisk walking can reduce our biological life by 16 yearsat the cellular level.

Telomeres

Researchers have found a link between brisk walking and Telomere length, tiny bits of DNA found at the ends of each chromosome and protecting them from damage: For comparison, they’re like the caps at the ends of shoelaces that keep the laces from fraying. Each time a cell divides, these telomeres get so short that they become too short for the cell to divide, a process known as reproductive senescence. These vital signs It decreases naturally as we age But research has shown that certain situations such as stress, lack of sleep and demanding work can accelerate their reduction. For this reason, scientists consider the length of the telemetry equipment to be a strong indicator of biological age (that is, how much the body’s cells consume), which can be very different from age.

I am studying

They participated in the study 400,000 British adults. Scientists have found that whoever walks a Fast paced up to 16 years younger in biological ageOnce you reach middle age. It was not necessary to do any particular physical activity: the differentiating factor was the speed of the stride and walking did not require special training or equipment. Walking intensity was measured by wrist-worn devices that allow physical activity to be measured. By crossing this data with genetic data, the researchers found a causal relationship between brisk walking and telomere length, independent of any physical activity. L ‘The intensity of the movement seems importantA leisurely walk doesn’t seem to have the same effect as brisk walking, although any type of movement is good for you. Walking speed itself is affected by a number of factors such as lung capacity, movement control, mental health, and levels of stimulation.

Brisk walking as an indicator of health

Researchers suggest that clinicians may consider brisk walking as an indicator of overall health. Our study tells us that measures such as normally slow walking speed are a simple way to identify people at increased risk of developing chronic disease or poor aging and that activity intensity can play an important role in improving interventions, says study lead author Dr. Buddy Dempsey. some examples? Walk quickly to the subway station or pick up the kids from school. There are endless opportunities to follow the pace.

former

A few years ago, researchers from the University of Leicester demonstrated, always using the British Biobank, that too Just 10 minutes of brisk walking a day has been linked to a longer lifespan And that those who walk lightly have a life expectancy of up to 20 years longer than those who walk slowly. While we previously showed that walking speed is an important predictor of health status, we could not confirm that adopting a fast pace actually led to better health. It concluded that in this study, we used information from people’s genetic profile to show that a faster pace is more likely to lead to a younger biological age, as measured by telomeres. Tom Yatessenior author and professor of physical activity, sedentary behavior and health at the University of Leicester.