Cycling Better Than Botox: Seniors Who Bike Look Younger

Do you feel too weak to cycle? Then you can buy just one thing to help you.

A bicycle! Hop on to one and begin to pedal. You will find that cycling can actually help you to beat your years. In a recent study at King's College London, scientists studying the physiological functions of about 120 cyclists between 55 and 79 did not detect any signs of ageing.

They called for volunteers to undertake the experiment, and there were 84 men and 41 women who came forward. The men managed to cycle 100 kms in six-and-a-half hours, while the women travelled 60 kms in less than 5.5 hours. However, the group did not include smokers, heavy drinkers or people with high blood pressure and related health conditions.

Only older volunteers were chosen, as sedentary lifestyles are "masking" the usual ageing process, according to the researchers. That makes it tough to observe the physical changes that are the consequence of growing old.

This group of "super-fit" and older cyclists was assessed in a laboratory for two days with a number of tests that could take stock of their "cardiovascular, respiratory, neuromuscular, metabolic, endocrine and cognitive functions - in addition to bone strength and general health and well-being," according to nzherald.com.

The cyclists showed very few of the typical ageing symptoms. We cannot make "generalisations about the aging process", according to Steve Harridge of King's College London, the senior author of the study published in the Journal of Physiology.

"In general, we didn't find the ageing we would expect to see in this age profile. We found some factors were correlated with ageing, but not strongly correlated, and some that were not correlated at all," Dr Harridge said. He added that they had thought that ageing involves a linear process of physiology. However, that is not likely. Cycling would "optimize the ageing process", he explained.

Today most people are sedentary, so people tend to think that inactivity is inevitable. However, we have inherited our legacies from a period when people were active, hence we can understand the value of high levels of physical activity to contribute to health and well-being, he added.

Hence, the cyclists showed reduced effects of ageing. The younger and older members exhibited "similar levels of muscle strength, lung power and exercise capacity," according to express.co.uk.

One interesting test involved all of them to check how fast everyone could get up from a chair, walk three metres, then turn, go back and sit down. More than 15 seconds was a symptom of growing old, yet all the volunteers, even the elderly ones, could manage to complete the task in less than the given time.

It is clear, then, that cycling does help to keep both mind and body fit.