Football, team handball training may increase lifespan of women

In the quest for healthy aging and a longer lifespan, Danish researchers at the University of Southern Denmark collaborated with Swedish researchers at Karolinska Institutet to explore the anti-aging effects of football and team handball training.

The researchers investigated the effects of lifelong regular exercise on two of the central hallmarks of aging combined and showed that football and team handball have a positive effect on telomere length and mitochondrial function in women.

“Our legacy consists of DNA that is packed in chromosomes. When cells divide, the inheritance is copied, but with each cell division the ends of the DNA threads get shorter. The so-called telomeres are shortened, which causes us to age. It is remarkable that engaging in team sports such as football and handball helps women to maintain longer telomeres and healthy mitochondria,” said senior researcher Muhammad Asghar, the study's shared senior author, of the Department of Medicine, Solna at Karolinska Institutet.

Asghar added, “It may potentially increase their health span and, ultimately, lifespan, as shorter telomeres and mitochondrial dysfunction are both associated with a number of age-related diseases and mortality.” Younger biological age in the cells as evaluated by telomere length “We’ve recently shown that 65-80-year-old male football players are in excellent physical shape in comparison to untrained age-matched individuals, evidenced by markedly higher aerobic fitness, muscle mass and bone strength as well as a younger biological age in the cells as evaluated by telomere length,” said Professor Peter Krustrup, the study’s shared senior author, of the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark.