Irisin, a muscle hormone released after exercise, may be the reason why physically active people age healthier, a new study finds.
The health benefits of exercising are numerous. Researchers of a new study have now added healthier aging to this list. They found that irisin, a hormone released from muscles after exercising, reprograms the body's fat cells to burn energy instead of storing it. This increases metabolic rates and has anti-obesity effects.
Apart from this, researchers from Aston University also identified a strong link between Irisin levels in the blood and a biological marker of aging called telomere length. It has been previously established that short telomere length is associated with many age-related diseases including cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found that people with higher irisin levels in the blood also have longer telomere length.
"Exercise is known to have wide ranging benefits, from cardiovascular protection to weight loss," Dr James Brown from Aston's Research Centre for Healthy Ageing, said in a press release. "Recent research has suggested that exercise can protect people from both physical and mental decline with aging. Our latest findings now provide a potential molecular link between keeping active and a healthy aging process."
The study was conducted on 81 healthy participants aged between 18 and 85 years. They had a mean body mass index (BMI) of between 20 and 30 kg/m2. None of the participants recruited for the study were obese, pregnant, type 2 diabetic, previously diagnosed with cancer, suffered from immune disorder, were recently hospitalized or treated with oral corticosteroids.
All participants were asked not to exercise or engage in any physical activities for at least 12 hours before the study. Additional participants were also asked to fast for a minimum of 8 hours prior to the study.
Earlier this month, an interesting study found that shivering can help you lose weight. This again has a lot to do with the irisin levels in a person's blood. Shivering in the cold is part of the body's attempt to stay warm. During this activity, irisin is released so that the body can maintain its core temperature. According to the study researchers, irisin is capable of stimulating the conversion of energy-storing 'white fat' into energy-burning 'brown fat'. Around 50 g of white fat stores more than 300 kilocalories of energy. The same amount of brown fat can burn up to 300 kilocalories a day.
Findings of the new study were published in the peer review journal AGE.
