eli5: I read that every time cells divide, they loose a bit of DNA. So shouldn’t that mean that when we exercise, we would actually be shortening our lifespans?

Question

eli5: I read that every time cells divide, they loose a bit of DNA. So shouldn’t that mean that when we exercise, we would actually be shortening our lifespans?

In: 2

Answer 1

Not really, if you lived as long as wolverine it would eventually show but that takes hundreds of years. That is because the ends, that is the parts get gets lost, is “filler” so a normal human lifespan isn’t long enough to experience it. So no, because training lessens the chance of cancer, and cancer would develop far earlier than any negative effects of dna being cut this way.