A claim you hear on longevity podcasts
The claim checked: Higher fitness and activity go with a younger epigenetic age Hear it at 56:55
Four studies found a clear link between activity or fitness and younger epigenetic age. Six found weaker or mixed results, several fading once smoking and other habits were counted.
Computed from 10 studies that test this point, each judged by two readers, in full. 1 more study is waiting for a full read and does not count yet.
“Across large population studies, higher physical activity and higher cardiorespiratory fitness are both associated with younger epigenetic ages. This relationship holds across multiple clocks, including ones called grim age, pheno age, and the duneden poem clock.”
pooled analysis · 2024 · landmark
“We showed, in a large sample (>3200) of human muscles, that higher aerobic fitness is associated with younger epigenetic and transcriptomic profiles.”
Exercise is associated with younger methylome and transcriptome profiles in human skeletal muscle. Aging Cell
Who: Human skeletal muscle samples pooled from public and lab cohorts; DNAm cohorts mostly healthy, young/middle-aged men; VO2max analysis in 439 DNAm samples from 5 cohorts
PMID 37128843
other primary study · 2023 · landmark
“In conclusion, men and women who were more active showed correspondingly ‘fitter’ values of FitAgeAcceleration and the DNAm fitness biomarkers.”
DNAmFitAge: biological age indicator incorporating physical fitness. Aging (Albany NY)
Who: Adults from training cohorts (FHS, BLSA, Budapest) and validation cohorts (LBC1921, LBC1936, CALERIE, InChianti, JHS, WHI), plus Polish male bodybuilders and controls
PMID 36812475
other primary study · 2023 · landmark · cited on tape
“In conclusion, we demonstrated that higher accelerometer‐assed physical activity levels are associated with slower epigenetic ageing in adults across a wide age range.”
Physical activity is associated with slower epigenetic ageing-Findings from the Rhineland study. Aging Cell
Who: 3567 community-dwelling adults aged 30-94 (mean 55.5, 54.8% women) from the Rhineland Study, Bonn, Germany
PMID 37036021
other primary study · 2024 · landmark
“Importantly and consistent with other research, severe obesity and lack of weekly exercise were also associated with faster biological aging in second- and third-generation clocks.”
Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Factors and Epigenetic Aging in US Young Adults: NIMHD Social Epigenomics Program. JAMA Netw Open
Who: US adults aged 33-44 (mean 38.4) from the nationally representative Add Health cohort, wave V
PMID 39073811
other primary study · 2024
“In conclusion, the contribution of CRF to GrimAgeAccel and FitAgeAccel is relatively low compared to lifestyle‐related factors such as serum TG, daily intake of CHO, smoking, and calf circumference.”
Associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and lifestyle-related factors with DNA methylation-based ageing clocks in older men: WASEDA'S Health Study. Aging Cell
Who: Japanese men aged 65-72 (mean 68) from the WASEDA'S Health Study cohort (Waseda University alumni and spouses)
PMID 37584423
other primary study · 2021
“Associations of age acceleration estimates with PA, physical function and body composition were weak in both tissues and mostly explained by smoking and sex.”
Blood and skeletal muscle ageing determined by epigenetic clocks and their associations with physical activity and functioning. Clin Epigenetics
Who: Finnish adults aged 23-69 from a twin cohort and a middle-aged women cohort, with blood and muscle samples
PMID 34001218
controlled trial · 2021 · landmark
“There was no significant reduction of DNAmGrimAA associated with the PA intervention nor reduced EML associated with the dietary intervention (Table 3 ).”
DNA methylation-based biomarkers of aging were slowed down in a two-year diet and physical activity intervention trial: the DAMA study. Aging Cell
Who: Healthy non-smoking postmenopausal women aged 50-69 with high mammographic breast density, Florence, Italy (DAMA trial)
PMID 34535961
other primary study · 2025 · landmark
“In conclusion, this study provides evidence that higher levels of PA are significantly associated with lower DNAm-predicted chronological and phenotypic ages, indicating that regular PA may play a crucial role in slowing biological ageing.”
Relationship between physical activity and DNA methylation-predicted epigenetic clocks. NPJ Aging
Who: US NHANES 1999-2002 adults aged 50-85 (mean 62.5), 84% non-Hispanic White
PMID 40221397
other primary study · 2021
“However, the associations mainly attenuated after controlling for smoking status.”
Leisure-Time and Occupational Physical Activity Associates Differently with Epigenetic Aging. Med Sci Sports Exerc
Who: Finnish twins: young adults 21-25 y (285 pairs) and older adults 55-74 y (235 pairs), plus 16 pairs discordant for leisure activity for 30+ years
PMID 32868581
other primary study · 2022
“In this study, lower levels of physical activity in adolescence were closely intertwined with other unhealthy behaviors.”
The role of adolescent lifestyle habits in biological aging: A prospective twin study. Elife
Who: Finnish twins from the FinnTwin12 cohort, lifestyle self-reported at ages 12, 14 and 17, DNA methylation measured at 21-25 years
PMID 36345722
None.
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