Being sedentary can lead to health complications later in life. These days, with more things being automated or else more accessible online, the tendency to sit more has also increased. Biological aging then is faster for those with little exercise.
Physical activity is needed in order to keep fit as well as have a healthy lifestyle. With the sedentary lifestyle today, more people are increasingly becoming unfit and prone to more health issues. Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have made a study on elderly women who sit for more than 10 hours each day.
In the study, the researchers have found that elderly women who sit for a long time have cells that become biologically older. The researchers have found that the telomeres in the cells have become deteriorated and shorter. The telomeres naturally shorten as the cells age, but for sedentary and unhealthy people this process could become faster.
Other factors that could shorten the process would include smoking and obesity. Short telomeres are found to also cause ailments such as heart disease and cancer. Lead author Aladdin Shadyab, Ph.D. from the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health has confirmed this result from the study.
Around 1,500 elderly women from ages 64 to 95 have been part of the study, according to Science Daily. They are part of a larger study called the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). The aim of WHI is to find out the cause of chronic diseases in aging women.
For the study, the participants answered questionnaires and wore accelerometer for seven days in order to monitor movement. The study has found that women who exercised at least 30 minutes a day did not have short telomeres, as UPI reports. Shadyab has said that they would expand the study to see how exercise affects telomeres in younger people as well as in men.
Exercise should be part of life as it can benefit health. A sedentary lifestyle could lead to health issues later on. Biological aging is faster for those with little exercise. A study has also found that work-related stress could lead to cancer.
