PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY AS A NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT BOOSTER AND ITS EFFECT ON A HEALTHY LIFE-SPAN

The recent Surgeon General's report (U.S. Department of Health and Hum an Services, I996) promotes regular physical activity to enhance healt h. A possible mechanism by which physical activity contributes to a he althy life span is via enhanced antioxidant status. The purpose of thi s paper is to summarize findings from human studies on life span, heal th, antioxidants, and the effectiveness of physical activity as a natu ral antioxidant booster. Epidemiological studies concur that some anti oxidant are inversely related to mortality. A single bout exercise ele vates some antioxidant enzyme and coenzyme activities. Regular physica l activity enhances some antioxidants, however strenuous exercise may diminish others. Results generally show that antioxidants play a media ting role in the way which physical activity positively affects a heal thy life span.