British researchers have found that staying active keeps the body young and healthy. The researchers looked at the health of older adults who had exercised for most of their adult lives to see if it could delay aging. The study recruited 125 amateur cyclists ages 55 to 79, 84 of whom were men and 41 women. The men had to cycle 100 km in less than 6.5 hours, while the women had to cycle 60 km in 5.5 hours. Smokers, heavy drinkers and people with high blood pressure or other health conditions were excluded from the study. The participants underwent a battery of tests in the lab and were compared with a group of adults who did not participate in regular exercise. This group consisted of 75 healthy people aged 57 to 80 and 55 healthy young adults aged 20 to 36.
The study showed that loss of muscle mass and strength did not occur in those who exercise regularly. The cyclists also didn't increase their body fat or cholesterol levels with age, and the men's testosterone levels also remained high, suggesting they may have avoided male menopause. Surprisingly, the study also showed that the benefits of exercise extend beyond muscle, as the cyclists also had an immune system that didn't seem to be out of date either.
An organ called the thymus, which makes immune cells called T cells, begin to shrink from age 20 and make fewer T cells. However, in this study, the cyclists' thymuses made as many T cells as a younger person's.
