Exercise 'fights ageing process'

A study of twins found there was a difference of about nine years of ageing between those who exercised regularly and those who did not, even after considering other influences including body mass index (BMI), smoking and socio-economic status (SES).

Researchers at King's College London and in the US studied ageing in 2,401 twins by analysing telomeres, which cap the end of chromosomes in cells and protect them from damage. Telomeres shorten with age, leaving people increasingly susceptible to cell damage which causes disease.

Comparing twins who were raised together but did different amounts of exercise, the researchers found that on average the telomeres were significantly longer in the more active twin.