Posted on 06/15/2005 3:23:39 PM PDT by anniegetyourgun
OBESITY accelerates the ageing process even more than smoking, according to the largest study so far of the "chromosomal clock" in our cells.
Tim Spector of St Thomas' Hospital in London measured the length of the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres, in the white blood cells of 1122 women aged 18 to 76. Each time a cell divides, its telomere loses a small chunk of DNA. When it becomes too short, cells can no longer divide. In effect, telomere shortening acts as a kind of chromosomal clock, counting down the generations.
Spector found that the white blood cells of the youngest women had telomeres that were around 7500 base pairs long. Their length declined with age at an average rate of 27 base pairs per year. When lifestyle factors were taken into account, however, dramatic differences emerged. The difference between being obese and being lean corresponds to 8.8 years of ...
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
Guess I will go back to smoking so I can lose weight.
Smoking kills you lots quicker from cancer I would think, but with all the toxins stored in your fat that don't leave your body with obesity, I can see that aging you...yep!
OK, so I'm a freak...
Wow, obesity actually accelerates time. Fascinating.
Maybe on the inside this is true, but women who smoke LOOK older. They are very wrinkly and their voices sound like gravel.
And here I always pictured you as a 22 year old female supermodel....
This is just the reverse of the well-known fact that animals such as rats and monkeys on a subsistance diet have significantly increased lifespans. Of course I've heard it said that a person on such a diet would probably rather be dead.
I'm sure I wouldn't know....what year is it anyway?
Sorry to disappoint you. I could claim to be a male lesbian, does that help?
ROTFL!
That's the beauty of FR, Argh....you can be whatever you want. Folks around here think I'm a married female. ; 0
I think I'll forward this study to my mother in law...
Fascinating. Yea I want under the impression that as mass and gravity increased time slowed down, like in a massive black hole
Good grief I'm glad they cleared that up, I was afraid Michael Moore be around forever....
(Hey whats a FReeper thread on fat and obesity with out a Michael Moore reference or two :)
Well I'm not smoking lard - that's for dang sure.
;)
:^)
Well that's just great. I quit smoking 7 weeks ago and I've gained 14 pounds, and I feel like crap.
Oh no! Fat! The New Marlboro!
Attornies! present your briefcases!
I never even thought of adding some fat to my cigarettes. I imagine the smoke would be less than refreshing.
A friend of mine was on the calorie-reduction (CR) diet -- he was eating 30% fewer calories than typical diets. He was rail-thin. I gather an unexpected side-effect of a CR diet is having to explain to people that you are healthy, that you're so thin because you're on a special diet.
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