The secret to anti-ageing? Have more kids!

SCIENTISTS believe they’ve discovered the secret to slowing down the ageing process - and it involves your offspring.

 

Women with more children age slower, says study

 

In a surprising study, researchers have found the more children a woman has, the slower her rate of ageing. 

The slower ageing process is due to longer telomeres, an essential part of human cells that affect how they age.

Women with more children have longer telomeres than those with fewer children. Telomeres protect chromosomes and, as a result, genetic information from damage.

 

During pregnancy a rise in oestrogen may act as a “potent antioxidant"

 

If chromosomes are damaged it can lead to cell ageing and mean they function less effectively.

The scientists believe during pregnancy a rise in oestrogen may act as a “potent antioxidant" protecting cells against telomere shortening.

Contrary to popular belief, the research also showed that having more children doesn’t necessarily induce more stress and there are several social factors benefiting women with more children.

The women in the study with more children also received more support from family and friends.

 

Women with less children may age faster

 

Prof. Pablo Nepomnaschy of Simon Fraser University in Canada said: “Greater support leads to an increase in the amount of metabolic energy that can be allocated to tissue maintenance, thereby slowing down the process of ageing.”.

The team looked at 75 Guatemalan women between the years of 2000-2013, examining how many children they had and measuring their telomere length via saliva samples at the beginning and end of the 13 year period. 

As well as discovering women who had more offspring had longer telomeres, the researchers found each additional child more was linked to 0.059 more telomere units. 

  

The women in the study with more children also received more support from family and friends.

 

The scientists added: "Our analyses show that increased offspring number across 13 years of observation attenuated telomere shortening, suggesting that, in our study population, having more children may slow the pace of cellular ageing."

The study was published in the journal PLOS One.