Wearing skin-tight Lycra, riding bicycle can help you fight ageing

London: A new study has revealed that older cyclists who dress up in skin-tight Lycra and riding bicycleshow fewer signs of ageing compared with non-cyclists.

According to the findings, cycling and heavy exercise may be exhausting but it also appears to be the route to Shangri-La or something approximating the fountain of youth, the Independent reported.

Scientists who analysed the physiological functions of more than 120 regular cyclists aged between 55 and 79 failed to find any of the obvious signs of ageing that they would normally observe among people of the same age.

The volunteers - 84 men and 41 women - had to be able to cycle 100 km (62 miles) in six and half hours for men and 60km in less than 5.5 hours for women. Smokers, heavy drinkers and those with high blood pressure and other health conditions were automatically excluded.

The super-fit group of elder cyclists was monitored in a laboratory for two days with a battery of tests to measure their cardiovascular, respiratory, neuromuscular, metabolic, endocrine and cognitive functions - in addition to bone strength and general health and well-being.

The result was that the cyclists as a group showed few of the typical signs of ageing and that it was not possible to made generalisations about the aging process.

The study was published in the Journal of Physiology.