How To Outrun Your Age!

We all know someone who looks better at 50 than most people do at 30, but could their age-evading secret lie in a simple running routine?

- Sarah Sellens

Tempted to splash out on the latest anti-aging elixir? Are your shelves packed with supplements that promise to ease aches and pains? You’re not the only one. According to data, British women spend £70,294 on their appearance in their lifetime. And that’s not all – 23 percent of us would consider youth-boosting cosmetic surgery, while 67 percent would opt for a non-invasive treatment. But what if the fountain of youth wasn’t lurking on the beauty and health counters but among the details of your exercise regime? Sound too good to be true? Actually, it’s not.

THE EXERCISE EFFECT

In recent years, science has shown that many of the physical effects we once thought were caused by aging – weaker muscles, wider waists, easy-to damage bones – are partially the result of inactivity. Indeed, sporty people have thicker bones than those who sweat less, and they also have longer telomeres (the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, which protect DNA from deterioration and get shorter as you age). ‘You can lose up to 10 percent muscle mass every decade after 50, but exercise can counteract it,’ says Dr. Rebecca Robinson, consultant physician in sport & exercise medicine at The Centre for Health and Human Performance (chhp.com). ‘Older people can get the same response to exercise that a much younger person might have.’

WHY RUNNING MATTERS