Toronto, Sept. 4, 2013 – Add workouts to your daily routine to become a more energetic person and a better performer of your day-to-day activities, York University muscle health researchers say.

“Our recent study shows that exercise leads to expansion of the mitochondrial network and, as a result, energy is distributed to muscle in a more effective manner,” says Professor David Hood in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science at York.
On the other hand, mitochondria become smaller or more fragmented when the muscle is not used, for example due to aging, which leads to cellular damage and degeneration of muscle cells, the research reveals. The study to assess the effects of aging on mitochondrial morphology was conducted in young and older rodents.

Led by Hood, who is also the director of the Muscle Health Research Centre at York, his graduate students Sobia Iqbal, Olga Ostojic, Kaustabh Singh and Anna-Maria Joseph, conducted the recent research tiled “Expression of mitochondrial fission and fusion regulation proteins in skeletal muscle during chronic use and disuse”, which has been accepted for publication by the peer-reviewed journal, Muscle and Nerve.

The study indicates that the proteins involved in maintaining the size and shape of mitochondria are also regulated by exercise, or the lack of it. According to the researchers, this can have important implications for energy production in muscle, the benefits of exercise, and the consequences of chronic inactivity on our health.

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NOTE: The study is available to media upon request; York U media studio is available for double-ended broadcast interviews

Media Contact: Gloria Suhasini, York University Media Relations, 416 736 2100 ext. 22094, suhasini@yorku.ca