A British study shows that sustained physical activity, such as cycling regularly, in people aged 55 to 79, allows them to maintain the immune system of a 20-year-old.
Regular physical activity helps older people maintain a youthful immune system. Such is the observation of ua British study recently published in the journal Aging Cell.
Researchers from King’s College London (England) studied a group of 125 adults (84 men, 41 women) aged 55 to 79, cycling at least two and a half hours per week for several years. None of them smoked, drank alcohol regularly, or had high blood pressure.
Specifically, the selected men were able to cover 100 km in less than 6.5 hours while the women could cover 60 km in less than 5.5 hours.
T lymphocytes, little soldiers of the immune system
Their health was compared to that of 75 adults aged 57 to 80, as well as to 55 young people aged 20 to 36 who were in good health but not getting regular physical exercise. To do this, the researchers focused their attention on the thymus, an organ located in the upper part of the thorax playing a very important role in educating the immune system in children by ensuring the maturation of certain white blood cells, lymphocytes. T.
With age, the thymus atrophy, causing the function of the immune system to decline. This is why the elderly are more fragile and more prone than the young to develop diseases.
“The immune system of a 20 year old”
As a result, during their study, the researchers found that levels of T cells were higher and freshly made in older athletic people than in their sedentary counterparts. These levels were even more or less equal to those of the young adult cohort. These results therefore suggest that by practicing regular sporting activity, we play a role in our own immune system.
“The immune system declines about 2-3% per year from our twenties, which is why older people are more susceptible to infections, rheumatoid arthritis and potentially cancer,” says Janet Lord, of the University of Birmingham in the UK and study co-author. “Because cyclists have the immune system of a 20 year old rather than a 70 or 80 year old, that means they are protected against all of these problems.”
The possible regression of pro-inflammatory proteins
Another aspect linked to this physical activity and which was not developed in this study is the beneficial influence of physical exercise on weight and in particular on the fat inside the belly. This so-called “intra-abdominal” fat is harmful and very active fat with the secretion of pro-inflammatory proteins, or “adipokines”.
It is clear that sustained physical activity primarily reduces intra-abdominal fat and the secretion of adipokines which are deleterious for the immune system. The beneficial effect of physical activity on the immune system of the elderly is therefore exerted on several levels and to the greatest benefit of “old” athletes.
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