Exercise as a Countermeasure to Human Aging

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Editorial

28 July 2020

Editorial: Exercise as a Countermeasure to Human Aging

Bradley T. Elliott

,

Lawrence D. Hayes

,

David C. Hughes

and

Martin Burtscher

4,629 views

2 citations

Editors

4

Bradley Elliott

University of Westminster

Lawrence D Hayes

Lancaster Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University

David C. Hughes

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Martin Burtscher

University of Innsbruck

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This Research Topic is part of the Exercise as a Countermeasure to Human Aging series:
Exercise as a Countermeasure to Human Aging, Volume II

The average age of Humanity is greater than it has ever been, and is continuing to increase. That this is occurring is a success of scientific progress, in part from physiological research, but it does introduce to us new challenges in healthcare and wider society. Specifically, the diseases and mortality causes seen by nations’ healthcare systems are shifting towards chronic, non-transmittable disorders including frailty and sarcopenia. Indeed, regional differences in longevity statistics demonstrate the key role in healthcare, diet and exercise in promoting human health.

Both physical activity and structured exercise are near-uniformly positive for human longevity and wellbeing by multiple, complex physiological mechanisms and pathways that help maintain health, independence and quality of life. By comparing humans of different ages, we begin to gain an insight into the mechanistic processes of aging, and how activity and exercise may offset these.

Indeed, highly active older individuals show improvements in muscle function, cardiovascular and respiratory function, and immunological responses to physiological challenges and overall reductions in all-cause mortality, relative to their inactive peers. These observations suggest that exercise can offset the decreases in human function that we consider ‘inevitable aspects of aging’, but cannot prevent them completely.

It is necessary that we understand the physiological mechanisms underlying aging. Our understanding of how and why exercise and activity promote healthy aging, and indeed the basic physiology of the aging process, is at this time incomplete.

Based on the above, this Research Topic aims to focus on the aging human, and the role of exercise and/or activity (or conversely their absence; inactivity) in promoting successful aging and/or the insight that exercise and activity provides us into the physiological mechanisms of human aging. Such models can both help us as scientists understand human aging, or to influence the rate of change of function seen with human aging. Whilst it is anticipated that human models be used in the first instance, in vitro, in vivo and in silico models will be considered, if they can be shown to advance the understanding of the aging human.

This Research Topic is specifically interested in original research, clinical trial, review and systematic review articles.

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Editors

Bradley Elliott

University of Westminster

Lawrence D Hayes

Lancaster Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University

David C. Hughes

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Martin Burtscher

University of Innsbruck

Impact

374,835 Total views

293,219 Article views

70,570 Article downloads

11,046 Topic views

Published In

Frontiers in Physiology

Exercise Physiology, Integrative Physiology, Striated Muscle Physiology, Clinical and Translational Physiology

Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

Exercise Physiology

Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

Neuroinflammation and Neuropathy, Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias, Neurocognitive Aging and Behavior, Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Brain-aging, Parkinson’s Disease and Aging-related Movement Disorders, Aging Neuroscience Archive

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