Keeping fit can’t keep muscles young - study

Despite the benefits of exercise, fewer than a third of the 6 000 women questioned were active, the journal Menopause reports.

Despite the benefits of exercise, fewer than a third of the 6 000 women questioned were active, the journal Menopause reports.

Published Mar 28, 2013

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London - Millions of us spend hours sweating and straining in the gym hoping to keep ourselves looking younger than our years.

But when it comes to slowing down the ageing process, you might as well stay on the couch.

According to scientists, regular exercise will not stop our muscles losing their tone and shape. The findings challenge the long-held belief that inactivity is largely responsible for muscle wastage in our older years.

Professor Jamie Timmons, from Loughborough University, said the research shows “a simple link between muscle ageing and lack of exercise is not plausible”.

He added: “When it comes to tackling ageing, experts are advising the Government that muscle ageing is caused by factors such as inactivity. However, we looked at the changes in human muscle with age, in both people from the UK and the USA.

“We did not observe physical activity altering the age-related biological changes. So for some people exercise might produce some good functional effects, but for others it will not stop the loss of muscle.”

Professor Timmons said a quarter of people “just cannot grow muscle tissue” even when they make an effort to be physically active.

And he stressed that a “one-size-fits-all” approach will not be effective when it comes to stopping muscles from withering away.

The researchers found specific chemical markers, or fingerprints, for muscle ageing. Once they identified the chemical signatures, the scientists were able to see how they reacted to endurance training.

They were for looking for improvements in the patients who were exercising. But they soon realised that the volunteers’ hard work in the gym did not stop their muscles from deteriorating.

Professor Timmons, who specialises in systems biology at Loughborough’s Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences department, said: “We found there is absolutely no connection. The major problem with ageing is loss of muscle, but 25 percent of people don’t respond to exercise and grow muscle.”

He warned that repetitive exercise could cause more than one in ten people to suffer high blood pressure and place nine percent at higher risk of diabetes. He said: “Our public health strategy is to focus on physical activity, which in many cases doesn’t work.

“For some people, the focus may be better spent on looking at their diet or sleep.”

The findings will come as bad news to exercise-obsessed stars who have attempted to maintain their youthful looks.

Despite her rigorous fitness regime, it is often pointed out that Madonna’s hands and the veins on her arms make her look every one of her 54 years.

Last year Meg Ryan, 51, turned heads for all the wrong reasons after being spotted with blood vessels protruding from her arms.

And Sex And The City star Sarah Jessica Parker, now 47, has been forced to reduce her daily workout after her designer gowns revealed her bulging veins and sinewy biceps.

Prominent veins are usually a sign of over-exercising, and they become more evident as the body ages.

But Jane Fonda, 75, motivated a generation of women to exercise and still puts stars half her age in the shade.

However, although she looks younger than her years, her workouts won’t have stopped her muscles from ageing. - Daily Mail

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