Just 25 minutes of brisk walking a day can add up to seven years to your life, according to health experts. Researchers have found that moderate exercise could halve the risk of dying from a heart attack for someone in their 50s or 60s.

A new study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress suggested that regular exercise can increase life span.

A group of 69 healthy non-smokers, aged between 30 and 60, who did not take regular exercise were tested as part of the study at Saarland University in Germany.

Blood tests taken during six months of regular aerobic exercise, high-intensity interval training and strength training showed that an anti-aging process had been triggered and helped repair old DNA.

“This suggests that when people exercise regularly, they may be able to retard the process of aging,” said Sanjay Sharma, professor of inherited cardiac diseases in sports cardiology at St. George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London.

“We may never avoid becoming completely old, but we may delay the time we become old. We may look younger when we’re 70 and may live into our 90s.

“Exercise buys you three to seven additional years of life. It is an antidepressant, it improves cognitive function and there is now evidence that it may retard the onset of dementia.”

The advice from experts is that everyone should do at least 20 minutes of walking or jogging a day, given the sedentary lifestyles and changes in diet that have contributed to high death rates from heart disease. Exercise can also improve brain functioning.

Exercise brings benefits at whatever age the person starts. People who start exercising at the age of 70 are less likely to go on to develop a condition that leads to irregular or racing heart rates in 10 percent of people aged over 80.

健康专家称，每天快步走25分钟可以延长七年寿命。研究人员发现适度的锻炼可以使那些50或60多岁的人因突发心脏病死亡的风险减少一半。

在欧洲心脏病学会大会上发表的一项新研究表明，有规律的体育锻炼可以延长寿命。

作为德国萨尔兰大学研究的一部分，一组69名30至60岁健康的、没有进行规律体育锻炼的非吸烟者组成的小组接受了测试。

在长达六个月有规律的有氧运动、高强度间歇运动和肌肉力量练习中，研究对象的血液检测显示一种抗衰老过程被触发并帮助修复衰老的DNA。

伦敦圣乔治大学医院英国国家医疗服务系统基金会的运动心脏病学遗传心脏病学教授桑杰· 夏尔马表示：“这表明，人们可以通过有规律地锻炼延缓衰老。”

“我们也许无法避免最终老去，但我们可以延缓衰老到来的时间。当我们70岁时，看起来会更年轻，并有可能活到90岁。”

“锻炼能给你多带来三到七年的生命。锻炼是种抗抑郁剂，它能改善认知能力，现在有证据表明，它也许能延缓痴呆症的发病时间。”

鉴于久坐不动的生活习惯和饮食结构的改变是心脏病高死亡率的部分原因，专家的建议是，每个人每天都应该进行至少20分钟的步行或慢跑。锻炼也能改善大脑功能。

无论什么时候开始，锻炼都能带来益处。80岁以上的人有10%会患上导致心率不齐或心跳过速的疾病，从70岁开始锻炼的人患病的几率更低。

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    【心脏病学】xīnzàngbìng xué cardiology the medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease

    【有氧的】yǒuyǎng de aerobic designed to increase oxygen consumption by the body