How physical fitness and lifestyle impact biological aging

A new editorial titled "Physical fitness and lifestyles associated with biological aging" has been published in Aging.

Given the growing aging population worldwide, it is crucial to develop interventional strategies that target aging itself, rather than focusing solely on organ- or disease-based medicine. The geroscience hypothesis, which suggests that delaying aging can prevent the onset of diseases, is gaining traction due to advancements in aging biomarkers, driven by improvements in both measurement techniques (e.g., omics) and analytical technologies (e.g., bioinformatics).

In their editorial, researchers Takuji Kawamura, Radak Zsolt, Mitsuru Higuchi, and Kumpei Tanisawa from the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Waseda University and the Research Center for Molecular Exercise Science at Hungarian University of Sports Science, emphasize the importance of investigating the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and the DNA methylation (DNAm) aging clock.

Their goal is to establish fitness reference values that could help delay aging. They also discuss their recent report on the "Associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and lifestyle-related factors with DNA methylation-based aging clocks in older men: WASEDA'S Health Study."

"Our study reinforces the geroscience concept that active lifestyle choices may impact quantifiable molecular biomarkers that capture biological aging," state the authors.