Two Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) scientists are studying how exercise can fight aging through a $7.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Benjamin Miller and Sue Bodin will work with researchers at the Florida Human and Machine Cognition Institute and the University of Florida over the next five years to create a model that can predict the factors that determine whether a person will respond to exercise. We plan to do so. The study will be divided into two phases and will involve approximately 200 people over the age of 60 who do not exercise regularly.
After having their muscle mass and cardiovascular health tested, participants will undergo 12 weeks of supervised strength and endurance training at OMRF.
“It is well known that if you give a group of people the same exercise regimen, many people will see significant and measurable improvements, while others will not change much, if at all. “It’s a phenomenon that’s been created by people,” said Miller of the GT Blankenship chair. OMRF Aging Research said in a press release.
In Phase 2, teams increase training intensity for players who have shown little or no improvement. Those who experience benefits continue at the same pace for another 10 weeks or are released.
They want to find ways to tailor exercise to different people so that everyone responds positively to exercise.
Miller said he wouldn’t be surprised if research confirms that regular training can prevent age-related diseases.
“It’s well known that diseases accumulate in older adults, but what if we could slow the aging process and reduce or prevent the onset of those diseases?” Miller said. “No drug does that better than exercise.”
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