Researchers from the University of Birmingham and King's College London confirm that staying active keeps the body young and healthy.
The researchers set out to evaluate the health of older people who had exercised most of their adult lives to see if this could slow down aging.
Better immune system
The study recruited 125 amateur cyclists from 55 to 79 years old, 84 of whom were men and 41 were women. Men had to be able to travel 100 km in less than 6.5 hours, while women had to be able to travel 60 km in 5.5 hours. Smokers, heavy drinkers and those with high blood pressure or other health conditions were excluded from the study.
The participants underwent a series of tests in the laboratory and were compared with a group of adults who did not perform regular physical activity. This group consisted of 75 healthy people between 57 and 80 years old and 55 healthy young adults between 20 and 36 years old.
The study showed that the loss of muscle mass and strength did not occur in those who exercise regularly. Cyclists also did not increase their body fat or cholesterol levels with age and testosterone levels in men also remained high.
More surprisingly, it was still discovered that the benefits of exercise extend beyond the muscles, since cyclists also had an immune system that did not seem to age either.