Journal of Medical and Biological Research · Feb 20, 2026
Relationship Between the Level of Physical Performance and the Rate of Biological Ageing (Review)
By Сверчков ВВ, Быков ЕВ
Ageing is the accumulation of changes in the body over time, leading to an increased risk of mortality. It is known that regular physical exercise helps to reduce the risk of mortality, both from all causes and from specific causes. One of the positive effects of exercise is increased physical performance. This article aimed to review and analyse literature on the relationship between various parameters of physical performance (grip strength, cardiorespiratory fitness, gait speed), signs of sarcopenia (appendicular skeletal muscle mass) and the rate of biological ageing based on the epigenetic clock and telomere length. A search was conducted in the databases PubMed (MEDLINE), Cochrane Library, Epistemonikos, Scopus and SPORTDiscus in accordance with the PRISMA-S and PRESS checklists. Query dates are October 2024 and February 2025, query depth is 2015–2024. The SANRA scale for assessing narrative review articles was used. According to observational and mendelian randomization studies, higher levels of physical performance correlate with a younger epigenetic profile and greater telomere length, although some studies have conflicting results. On the whole, the data obtained indicate that maintaining/improving physical fitness parameters will help to reduce the rate of biological ageing and increase healthy life expectancy. Further research is needed to confirm the cause-and-effect relationship between the level of physical performance and the rate of biological ageing in order to develop preventive measures to extend the period of healthy life.