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London (pte027/14.06.2005/11:52) - According to a major study done on the 'chromosomal clock', obese people age much faster than those who are not. Obese smokers are at an even higher risk of ageing faster. This is due to the shortening of telomeres, the ends of chromosomes, which leads to the loss of a small chunk of DNA, and acts as a kind of 'chromosomal clock'.
Tim Spector of St Thomas' Hospital in London http://www.tim-spector.co.uk/ , measured the telomeres in the white blood cells of 1122 women aged between 18 and 76. In the youngest of women Spector found that the telomeres were about 7500 base pairs long, the length of which shortened with age at an average rate of 27 base pairs per year.
Taking lifestyle into account, however, showed augmented differences. Those who are obese age 8.8 years faster than those who are lean - though this doesn't necessarily affect mortality.
On smokers, Spector said: "Smokers were on average biologically older than lifetime non-smokers by 4.6 years. For a heavy smoker on 20 cigarettes a day for 40 years, that equals 7.4 years of extra biological ageing."
According to Spector, fat smokers are at the highest risk of ageing faster: "An obese smoker is on average at least 10 years older than a lean non-smoker," he says. "It's not just about heart disease or lung cancer, the whole chromosomal clock is going faster. That's the public health message."
The scientist adds that quitting smoking or losing weight won't help stop the ageing process because the telomeres are already damaged.
What the study doesn't prove, though, is that obese people will die earlier. The research was only done on white blood cells, and it remains to be seen if obesity and smoking affect other tissues adversely.
Spector's next study will question the effects of other lifestyle factors on the length of telomeres, which includes exercise, diet and occupation.
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