Scientists named a habit that accelerates body aging

# A Sedentary Lifestyle Accelerates the Body's Aging, But It's Never Too Late to Start Moving **Years of physical inactivity lead to accelerated accumulation of biological stress by age 45. However, even after long years on the couch, the body is capable of recovering if a person returns to regular exercise. This was discovered by Finnish scientists from the University of Oulu, who published their results in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.** Researchers tracked the fate of participants in a large-scale project—the Northern Finland Birth Cohort of 1966. Observation was conducted from early adulthood through age 46. The scientists were interested in the connection between physical activity and so-called allostatic load—the cumulative physiological "wear and tear" that accumulates in the body under the influence of chronic stress. WHO recommendations were used as a benchmark: a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate or vigorous activity per week. Participants reported how often in their leisure time they engaged in exercises that caused shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat. Based on this data, people were divided into four groups: consistently active, consistently sedentary, those who increased activity with age, and those who decreased it. The picture proved revealing: those who had led a sedentary lifestyle for years had noticeably higher allostatic load levels by age 46. Meanwhile, participants who maintained regular activity or began moving more as they approached middle age did not demonstrate additional accumulation of biological stress. The key factor turned out to be not the intensity of individual workouts, but the consistency of the habit. Importantly, even after many years of inactivity, the body did not lose its ability to reduce stress load when returning to regular movement. The authors acknowledge the study's limitations: activity was assessed through participants' self-reports, and stress indicators were measured at only one age point. Nevertheless, the lengthy observation period made it possible to link specifically chronic inactivity, rather than temporary breaks in training, with accelerated accumulation of age-related stress.