We did not find an effectof3-mo aerobicexercise intervention
alone on serum AGE levels. This differs from three previous re-
ported studies looking at the effect of exercise on AGE levels in
general.ThefirststudiedtheeffectoftaichiinahealthyMalaysian
population matched with sedentary volunteers >45 y [16]. The
participants were randomized either to practice tai chi twice per
week or to a control group. Plasma malondialdehyde and AGE
concentrations decreased significantly after 12 mo only in the tai
chi group. The second study recruited 17 healthy women (aged
30–60 y) who participated in a lifestyle modification protocol
aimedatincreasingphysicalactivity for3motomeasurechanges
in AGEs [24]. Blood levels of CML decreased in the treatment
group compared with controls and changes in CML levels corre-
latedwiththeintensityofexercise.Finally,thethirdgroupstudied
levels of MG in red blood cells during exercise in eight untrained
and five trained men [32]. Each man performed runs of short and
long duration. MG content of red blood cells decreased markedly
after running, especially in the untrained men. After short runs,
the MG concentration had dropped to 13% in the untrained men
and30%inthetrainedmen,andafterlongrunstheconcentration
fell to 41% in the untrained and 60% in the trained men. Our
different results likely reflect the different populations studied
and, more importantly, the type and intensity of exercise inter-
vention. We should note that our study followed the American
CollegeofSportsMedicineGuidelinessupportingaerobicexercise
performed 3 to 5 d/wk for 20 to 60 continuous minutes at an in-
tensity of 55% to 90% of HR max