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Extreme Heat Makes Your Body Age Faster


A study reveals that extreme heat accelerates biological aging even more than smoking or drinking.

The research, which was published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that the aging effect of extreme heat was comparable to other behaviors known to be harmful to the body, such as smoking or drinking alcohol. “While the number itself may seem small, over time and in different populations, this effect may have significant implications for public health,” said Cui Guo, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong and lead author of the study, in a statement from Nature. The study also found that people doing physical labor and those residing in rural areas were more likely to be affected by accelerated biological aging, presumably due to greater exposure to the effects of heat waves.

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