Healthy eating, daily exercise can reverse premature ageing in obese kids: Study

Eating a healthy diet and doing regular exercise can reverse a genetic marker linked to premature ageing in children with obesity according to a studyLike the solid segment at the end of a shoelace telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes from frayingIn all people telomeres gradually shorten with ageing Various conditions including obesity cause premature shortening of the telomeresBut a sixmonth diet and exercise programme by researchers at the University of Stanford showed that childrens telomeres protective molecular caps on the chromosomes were longer during the weight management programme However they became shorter again in the year after the programme ended revealed the research published in the journal Pediatric ObesityThe discovery may help scientists understand how the biological benefits of losing weight eating healthier and being more physically active occurThe findings also imply that telomere length may be a good marker for measuring the benefits of healthy dietary changes physical activity and weight management as changes in telomere length appeared to be somewhat independent of traditional markers such as body mass index The study included 158 children all of whom were 8 to 12 years old and had obesity defined as a body mass index or BMI above the 95th percentile for their age and sexWe saw that the recommended behaviours everyone knows about eating fewer highfat or highsugar foods and fewer calories increasing physical activity and reducing screen time can slow down biological ageing associated with obesity in children said Thomas Robinson Professor in Child Health and a Professor of paediatrics and of medicineIts remarkable to see effects on the chromosomes with behavioural treatments he saidUnderstanding how behaviour changes to reduce obesity are biologically linked with other conditions such as heart disease and diabetes would help scientists understand how the process might be slowed or reversed the researchers saidWe know a lot about cardiovascular risk for adults but for kids weve just said obesity is bad yet we dont know biologically how cardiovascular risks linked to obesity start in children said lead author David Rehkopf Associate Professor of epidemiology and population health and of medicineTo have this biological measure with a strong genetic component turn out to be changeable when we give kids resources to be healthier especially over a short period of time was very interesting and exciting Rehkopf saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever