Beneficial Effects of Exercise Change with Age

Two groups of men ages 18 to 30 and those above 55 years old cycled for 30 minutes, with blood being drawn six different times measuring cell function and antioxidant response. Exercise intensity was relative to the individual’s age and maximal aerobic capacity was determined during a screening.

The results indicated that a single session of submaximal aerobic exercise is sufficient to activate an important group of antioxidant genes at the whole-cell level in both young and older adults.

However, younger adults will experience greater antioxidant benefits from one exercise session. This is because nuclear import is required for Nrf2 (the regulator for the group of antioxidant genes) to access the antioxidant gene targets and nuclear import is impaired with ageing.