Telomeres & Childhood Obesity

Telomeres are those endcaps on the tips of our chromosomes that are purportedly linked to our health & death. Some propose that the length of the telomere limits cell division (and thus ongoing life).  In fact, shorter telomeres have been linked with heart disease & hypertension, diabetes, including insulin resistance & impaired glucose tolerance, and even cancer. Granted, we haven't figured out the chicken & egg relationship, whether shorter telomeres predisposes us to disease or vice versa, disease shortens telomeres.

But some would like us to act upon this now.  In fact, based upon one short trial in a small number of subjects, they would like to sell us a nutritional supplement (if they called it a medicine, they'd have to past FDA muster) that promises to lengthen our telomeres for the princely sum of $2,000 per month.

But what if you don't have $2,000 burning a hole in your pocket every month?  After all, there's a world-wide recession going on the last time I looked.  Well, proper nutrition & lifestyle have been associated w/longer telomeres in women.  And so has IGF-1 in both men & women (presumably resulting from growth hormone - so don't forget strenuous exercise & a good night's rest), especially since physical activity has been directly linked to longer telomeres.  Even exercise capacity, as a measure of physical activity, has been associated with longer telomeres.

Unfortunately, most would rather depend upon taking fish oil, multivitamins and vitamin D to lengthen their telomeres.  But just where did our lifestyle inertia come from?  In a study to be published next month in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the authors demonstrated an association between obese children and shorter telomeres, with longer telomeres found in their non-obese cohorts.

What could you do with an extra $2,000 every month?  Pop 4 pills every day?  Or invest that sum in proper nutrition & regular physical activity for both you & your family.  It's never too early to start!