Secret to eternal youth discovered? Lifelong exercise keeps the muscles from aging

“The biggest message from this study is that even a little bit of exercise seems to be very helpful.”

Copenhagen, Denmark – The secret to staying young may be keeping your muscles moving throughout your life. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen found that older adults who were physically active had muscles that were more resistant to fatigue and had more stem cells that regenerated their function.

The team say this is the first study to examine the activity of muscles, stem cells and nerves in humans. They studied 46 older men with an average age of 73 who fell into one of three categories: sedentary young men (15), lifelong exercise of the elderly (16), and sedentary elderly (15).

Older participants who were regularly active through resistance exercise, ball games, racket sports, swimming, cycling, running, or rowing had a higher number of muscle stem cells in their bodies. Also called satellite cells, they play an important role in muscle regeneration, muscle growth, and protect against nerve degradation.

Old but active beats young and inactive

During the study, each participant participated in a resistance exercise, using a power chair to perform knee extensions. The study authors measured the force each man produced before taking blood samples and muscle biopsies from both legs. The results revealed that the elderly who exercised throughout their lives outperformed both groups of sedentary men.

“This is the first human study to find that lifelong recreational exercise could delay some detrimental effects of aging. Using biopsies of muscle tissue, we have found positive effects of exercise on the aging of the general population. This has been absent from the literature as previous studies have mostly focused on expert athletes, which is a minority group,” says lead author Casper Soendenbroe in a Press release.

“Our study is more representative of the general population aged 60 and over, as the average person is more likely to participate in a mix of activities at a moderate level. That’s why we wanted to explore the relationship between satellite cell content and muscle health in recreationally active people. We can now use this as a biomarker to further investigate the link between exercise, aging and muscle health.”

“The most important message of this study is that even a little exercise seems to go a long way, when it comes to protecting against age-related decline in muscle function. This is an encouraging finding that can hopefully spur more people to engage in an activity they enjoy. We still have a lot to learn about the mechanisms and interactions between nerves and muscles and how these change as we age. Our research brings us one step closer”, concludes the researcher.

The study authors note that they have yet to examine the impact of lifelong exercise in people over the age of 80. Future studies should also look at the relationship between recreational activity and muscle health among women.

The findings are published in The Journal of Physiology.