Everyone knows exercise keeps you younger.
Telomere shortening causes aging.

Now even the “Grey Lady” is interested in dying her metaphorical hair!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/phys-ed-how-exercising-keeps-your-cells-young/?emc=eta1

Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly “breaking news.”  But at least the NYT blog is ahead of 99% of medical doctors, who don’t even know what the heck 2009’s Nobel Prize in Medicine was for.  Can you imagine 99% of Economists or Physicists not having any clue about what their Nobel Prize was for?

I even heard a line about telomere shortening and stress in a Kate Winslet Romantic comedy, “The Holiday.”  (A great movie, BTW)

Here is a quick smattering of the many articles linking exercise and telomere shortening:

1. Skeletal muscle telomere length in healthy, experienced, endurance runners.
Rae DE, Vignaud A, Butler-Browne GS, Thornell LE, Sinclair-Smith C, Derman EW, Lambert MI, Collins M.
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010 Jan 26. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20101406 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]Related articles

2. Leukocyte telomere length is preserved with aging in endurance exercise-trained adults and related to maximal aerobic capacity.Larocca TJ, Seals DR, Pierce GL.
Mech Ageing Dev. 2010 Jan 11. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20064545 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]Related articles

3. Coupling Aging Immunity with a Sedentary Lifestyle: Has the Damage Already Been Done? – A Mini-Review.
Simpson RJ, Guy K.
Gerontology. 2009 Dec 19. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20029165 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]Related articles

4. The biology of satellite cells and telomeres in human skeletal muscle: effects of aging and physical activity.

Kadi F, Ponsot E.
Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2009 Sep 17. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 19765243 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]Related articles

5. The association between leukocyte telomere length and cigarette smoking, dietary and physical variables, and risk of prostate cancer.
Mirabello L, Huang WY, Wong JY, Chatterjee N, Reding D, Crawford ED, De Vivo I, Hayes RB, Savage SA.
Aging Cell. 2009 Aug;8(4):405-13. Epub 2009 Jun 1.PMID: 19493248 [PubMed –

6. Relationship between physical activity level, telomere length, and telomerase activity.
Ludlow AT, Zimmerman JB, Witkowski S, Hearn JW, Hatfield BD, Roth SM.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Oct;40(10):1764-71.PMID: 18799986 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]Related articlesFree article

7. Inreased telomerase activity and comprehensive lifestyle changes: a pilot study.
Ornish D, Lin J, Daubenmier J, Weidner G, Epel E, Kemp C, Magbanua MJ, Marlin R, Yglecias L, Carroll PR, Blackburn EH.
Lancet Oncol. 2008 Nov;9(11):1048-57. Epub 2008 Sep 15. Erratum in: Lancet Oncol. 2008 Dec;9(12):1124. PMID: 18799354 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]Related articles

8. Effects of physical exercise on myocardial telomere-regulating proteins, survival pathways, and apoptosis.
Werner C, Hanhoun M, Widmann T, Kazakov A, Semenov A, Pöss J, Bauersachs J, Thum T, Pfreundschuh M, Müller P, Haendeler J, Böhm M, Laufs U.
J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Aug 5;52(6):470-82.PMID: 18672169 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]Related articles

9. Increased abdominal obesity, adverse psychosocial factors and shorter telomere length in subjects reporting early ageing; the MONICA Northern Sweden Study.
Nordfjäll K, Eliasson M, Stegmayr B, Lundin S, Roos G, Nilsson PM.
Scand J Public Health. 2008 Sep;36(7):744-52. Epub 2008 Jul 22.PMID: 18647789 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]Related articles