起來，不願變老的人們！

The best anti-ageing technique could be standing up, scientists believe, after discovering that spending more time on two feet protects DNA.

A study found that too much sitting down shortens telomeres, the protective caps which sit at the end of chromosomes.

Short telomeres have been linked to premature ageing, disease and early death. So spending less time on the sofa could help people live longer by preventing their DNA from ageing.

The research found that people who were frequently on their feet had longer telomeres, which were keeping the genetic code safe from wear and tear.

Intriguingly taking part in more exercise did not seem to have an impact on telomere length.

Prof Mai-Lis Hellenius, from Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, said : "In many countries formal exercise may be increasing, but at the same time people spend more time sitting.

"There is growing concern that not only low physical activity but probably also sitting and sedentary behaviour is an important and new health hazard of our time.

"We hypothesise that a reduction in sitting hours is of greater importance than an increase in exercise time for elderly risk individuals."

Telomeres stop chromosomes from fraying, clumping together and "scrambling" genetic code.

Scientists liken their function to the plastic tips on the ends of shoelaces, and say that lifespan is linked to their length.

Researchers looked at 49 overweight sedentary adults in their late sixties and measured the length of the telomeres in their blood cells.

Half of them had been part of an exercise programme that lasted six months, while the other half had not.

Physical activity levels were assessed using a diary and pedometer to measure the amount of footsteps taken each day.

The amount of time spent sitting down was worked out through a questionnaire.科學家發現，最好的抗衰老技術可能就是站起來，別“坐以待斃”。科學家研究發現，雖然鍛鍊越多的人往往更健康，但是最重要的因素還是坐着的時間長短。長時間坐着會縮短端粒——染色體末端的保護帽。

端粒縮短會導致早衰、疾病甚至早逝，因此減少坐在沙發上的時間可以幫助防止DNA衰老，延長壽命。

研究發現經常站立的人，端粒往往更長，可以減少遺傳密碼磨損。

一個人坐着的時間越少，他的端粒就越長，他就越可能長壽。有趣的是，多鍛鍊身體似乎對端粒的長度並沒有影響。

瑞典斯德哥爾摩的卡羅林斯卡醫學院的海勒紐斯（Mai-Lis Hellenius）教授說：“在許多國家，正式的鍛鍊也許越來越多，但同時人們坐着的時間也越來越多。”

“引起越來越多的擔憂的不僅僅是體育鍛煉時間少，久坐行爲也是我們這個時代新的重大健康隱憂。”

“我們認爲對於早衰人羣來說，減少坐着的時間比增加運動時間來得更加重要。”

端粒能夠使染色體避免磨損、凝結以及“擾亂”遺傳密碼。

科學家將端粒的功能比作鞋帶的塑料頭，稱壽命長短與端粒長短相關。

研究人員觀察了49名六七十歲的肥胖久坐人士，並測量了血液細胞中的端粒長短。他們中有一半的人蔘與鍛鍊計劃至少長達六個月，另一半的人則沒有參加。

研究人員通過記錄日記以及使用步程計來測量每天走了多少步，以此來評估鍛鍊強度水平。

而坐着的時間則通過調查問卷的方式統計。