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It is important to understand both the positive and negative effects of inflammation. In some cases, inflammation has beneficial properties. The ability to launch an acute inflammatory response is critical for various reasons, such as healing after an injury or fighting off viruses and bacteria. Generally, this beneficial acute inflammatory response is strongest in your younger years and decreases with age. Children, adolescents, and younger adults maintain a necessary balance of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors to be able to mount an appropriate immune response. As we age, however, the amount of pro-inflammatory factors begins to overtake the anti-inflammatory factors, causing a tip in the balance. When there is chronic, excessive inflammation, the response becomes harmful (Xia 2016), increasing the likelihood of experiencing detrimental consequences such as chronic disease and disability (Lavin 2019). The harmful effects of inflammation can be minimized by implementing small changes to your daily life.
Advances in aging research are revealing exciting findings about the power of exercise in decreasing the risk of age-related chronic diseases. In a recent study, researchers assessed the ability of exercise to delay or reduce the onset of age-associated chronic inflammation or inflammaging. They found that when older adults maintained a regular exercise regimen throughout the course of their lives, they had a better likelihood of preventing or delaying inflammaging. The study suggests that exercise can serve as a natural anti-inflammatory agent and may partially protect against age-associated inflammation.
In addition, scientists are finding that it is never too late to adopt an active lifestyle to reduce the effects of inflammaging. For example, a 2005 study found that just ten to twelve weeks of moderate exercise lowered inflammatory markers in previously sedentary older adults. The research suggests that “an awareness of the impact a sedentary lifestyle has on aging provides a new perspective that can lead to refined anti-inflammatory interventions strategically modified across the lifespan” (Flynn, 2019). Overall, these findings contribute to growing evidence that exercise serves as a powerful strategy to prevent the effects of inflammaging and ultimately, improve our quality of life as we age (Lavin, 2019).
Luckily, you don’t have to be a fitness-fanatic to promote healthy aging. The key is to commit to a consistent exercise routine that suits your own lifestyle. Exercise regimens can be as simple as brisk walking, cycling, swimming, running, or resistance training.
