Abstract

Remarkably, 80-year-old humans who have partaken in lifelong aerobic or strength training have maximal aerobic capacities or muscle strengths comparable with that of sedentary individuals aged 50 or 55-year-old, respectively. Such delays in functional aging are clinically significant because lower aerobic and lower strength capacities increase the risk of premature death. In this short review, we speculate that the lack of daily physical activity induces evolutionarily selected mechanisms to use or lose, one of which is related to nutritional status.