Can exercise reverse ageing?

While many in their 80s and 90s may be starting to take it easy, 85-year-old track star Irene Obera is at the other end of the spectrum.

Setting multiple world athletics records in her age category, she is one of a growing band of "master athletes" who represent the extreme end of what is physically possible later in life.

Another is John Starbrook, who at 87 became the oldest runner to complete the 2018 London Marathon.

Studies suggest regular exercise is more effective than any drug yet invented to prevent conditions facing older people, such as muscle loss.

To reap the full benefits, this pattern of behaviour should be laid down in a person's teens and early 20s.

What can we learn from elderly athletes?


https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47331544

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/89D3/production/_105838253_ireneobera.jpg

We often confuse the effects of inactivity with the ageing process itself, and believe certain diseases are purely the result of getting older.

Actually, our modern sedentary lifestyles have simply speeded up our underlying age-related decline. This contributes to the onset of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Many of us are simply not active enough. In England fewer than half of 16-24 year olds meet the recommendation for aerobic and muscle strengthening exercises; for 65-74 year-olds, it falls to fewer than one in 10.