Active People Aging Less

When people think about what they can do about aging, certainly superficial fixes come to mind:  plastic surgery, anti-aging creams, chemical peels.  Proactive measures to fight aging may also be considered such as proper nutrition, hydration, sun block and avoiding harmful habits such as smoking. Simon Lovell from www.thelunchboxdiet.com reports...

There's another proactive measure that you may not have previously associated with anti-aging:  exercise.  That's right, according a new study, people who are more active are biologically younger than their peers who are less active.

We've known for a long time now the effects of exercise on disease prevention in cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes and osteoporosis to name a few.  People who are healthier tend to feel better which is usually associated with feeling younger.  Now, however, there's scientific evidence that suggests an even greater impact of exercise on aging.

The King's College London studied 2,401 white twins.  The twins reported their levels of weekly physical activity and also gave blood samples.  Components of the twins DNA were measured.

Telomeres are the components of DNA that are at the ends of the chromosomes and help protect the chromosome.  As we age, the telomeres become shorter leaving our cells open to damage.  This is why skin is thinner and disease is more prevalent in older people.  What the scientists found was that the twins who had the least amount of physical activity per week had shorter telomeres than their peers who had more physical activity per week.

So there it is in black and white!  Furthermore, we all know that stress has a huge impact on our health and aging and exercise has been shown to be great for stress management.

If you live a sedentary life, now you have one more reason to get off the couch and get busy!  It's not as hard as you think to add physical activity to your daily and weekly life.  Here are my top five ways to put you on that path.

Top Five Ways to Get Active

• Take up a sport.  A big battle for most in sticking with exercise is dreading the actual act of exercising.  Make it fun and competitive with your peers and you'll look forward to exercise!
• Find a walking buddy.  Two is better than one both for safety purposes and support in sticking with your commitment.  Taking a half hour to hour walk with a friend is a nice way to get active and have a nice chat.
• Turn chores into physical fitness.  Cleaning is something we all have to do.  You might as well get the most bang for your buck.  Turn up the tunes and clean with energy!
• Don't take the shortcut!  We've all heard these tips before, but they really do add up.  Skip the elevator and run up those steps.  Walk or bike when and where you can instead of driving or taking public transportation.
• Try some new exercise routines.  There's a vast plethora of fun, new work-outs anywhere from salsa to kickboxing to belly dancing.  Check out the exercise DVD section at the store.  There's bound to be something you would enjoy!

And remember, it takes three weeks to form a habit good or bad.  Stick with your new plan for three weeks and you'll find yourself craving activity!

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