Physical Activity and Longer Lives: New Biomedical Research

Physical Activity Is Linked to Longer Lives, According to New Biomedical Research

‘Our bodies need physical activity to age well because we evolved to be active throughout our lives,’ says the new Lieberman study.

Almost everyone is aware that exercise is beneficial to one’s health.

Some people can even list reasons why it keeps your muscles and joints strong, as well as how it helps you fight diseases.

How many people, on the other hand, can tell you why and how physical activity was built into human biology?

In a new study published recently in PNAS, a group of Harvard evolutionary biologists and biomedical researchers takes a run at it (literally). The work lays out evolutionary and biomedical evidence showing that humans, who evolved to live many decades after they stopped reproducing, also evolved to be relatively active in their later years.

Physical activity later in life, according to the researchers, redirects energy away from processes that can compromise health and toward mechanisms in the body that can extend it.

They believe that humans evolved to stay physically active as they age, allocating energy to physiological processes that slow the body’s deterioration over time.

This protects against chronic diseases like heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and even some cancers.

The lead author of the study, Harvard evolutionary biologist Daniel E Lieberman, said, “It’s a widespread idea in Western societies that as we get older, it’s normal to slow down, do less, and retire.”

“Our message is the opposite: staying physically active becomes even more important as we age.”

The research team, which includes Harvard Medical School’s Aaron Baggish and I-Min Lee, believes that the paper is the first detailed evolutionary explanation for why lack of physical activity as people age increases disease risk and shortens lifespan.

Baggish, 47, who also serves as a team cardiologist for the New England Patriots and US Soccer, and Lieberman, 57, have been running buddies for a long time and frequently discussed the ideas that went into the paper during their 5- to 10-mile morning runs.

The study starts with humans’ ape cousins.

The researchers point out that apes, who live only 35 to 40 years in the wild and rarely survive past menopause, are far less active than most humans, implying that human evolution selected not only for longevity but also for physical fitness…

Summary of the Brinkwire News