Influence of Body Fat on Oxidative Stress and Telomere Length of Master Athletes

Abstract

Aguiar, SS, Rosa, TS, Sousa, CV, Santos, PA, Barbosa, LP, Deus, LA, Rosa, EC, Andrade, RV, and Simões, HG. Influence of body fat on oxidative stress and telomere length of master athletes. J Strength Cond Res 35(6): 1693–1699, 2021—The present investigation analyzed the role of body fat and training history on biological aging of master athletes by comparing and verifying the relationships between markers of adiposity, oxidative balance, and telomere length (TL) in middle-aged runners and untrained individuals. Master athletes (sprinters and endurance runners, n = 21; 51.62 ± 8.19 years) and untrained age-matched controls (n = 11; 45.41 ± 10.34 years) had blood samples collected for biochemical and biomolecular analyzes. Pro-oxidant and antioxidant measures as well as DNA extraction were performed using commercial kits. Relative TL (T/S) was determined in leukocytes through quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses. Master athletes had lower body fat and longer TL than untrained controls (body fat: 12.21 ± 4.14% vs. 26.03 ± 4.29%; TL: 1.10 ± 0.84 vs. 0.56 ± 0.56 T/S; p < 0.05). Furthermore, master athletes also showed a better oxidative balance than untrained controls (p < 0.05). A negative correlation was observed between TL and body fat (r = −0.471; p = 0.007), and conicity index (r = −0.407; p = 0.021), catalase activity (r = −0.569; p = 0.001), and CAT/TBARS ratio (r = −0.463; p = 0.008) for the whole sample. In conclusion, master athletes have longer TL, better oxidative profile, and lower body fat than untrained individuals. Moreover, for this middle-aged sample, body fat was inversely correlated with both TL and markers of oxidative balance, demonstrating the key role of adiposity in biological aging.

Faster and Healthier: Relationship between Telomere and Performance in Master Athletes

“…Participants also underwent anamnesis and anthropometric measures and completed a questionnaire regarding general characteristics of training. Body composition was assessed as previously described [18].…”

Does Longer Leukocyte Telomere Length and Higher Physical Fitness Protect Master Athletes From Consequences of Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Infection?

“…They also have a preserved proportion of naive CD4+ cells without senescent T-cells accumulation than age-matched sedentary people (Minuzzi et al, 2018). This may at least partly be due to their lower level of systemic inflammation and oxidative damage (Aguiar et al, 2019(Aguiar et al, , 2020. It is to be expected that such a profile will significantly enhance the ability of master athletes to combat infections, including COVID-19, above that seen in their unfit age-matched peers (Figure 1).…”

“…(C) Illustrative representation of telomere length in leukocytes of young adults, middle-aged master athletes and sedentary peers. According to recent studies, the telomere length of master athletes is greater than that of age-matched sedentary, and may not differ from young adults, suggesting that master athletes are biologically younger than their chronological age (Simoes et al, 2017;Aguiar et al, 2019;Sousa et al, 2019). Toft, 2000;Bopp et al, 2004), possibly preventing COVIDinduced lymphopenia, in master athletes.…”

Biomarkers and Redox Balance in Aging Rats after Dynamic and Isometric Resistance Training

“…In contrast, habitual physical activity is associated with the attenuation of telomeric shortening in human leukocytes [21,22]. Exercise does not reverse the natural consequences of aging, but it does slow down systemic and cellular injuries [21].…”