Telomere Length and How Metabolism Relates to Aging Clocks

Telomere shortening rate increases linearly with mass-specific metabolic rate among vertebrates.

• Telomere shortening rate decreases nonlinearly with increasing body mass, similar to mass-specific metabolic rate.
• Both telomere shortening rate and mass-specific metabolic rate are associated with lifespan differences.
• The relationships between telomere shortening rate, metabolic rate, and lifespan have slopes that are less than linear.
• On average, telomeres shorten a fixed amount per unit of mass-specific energy flux.
• Telomere shortening and metabolic rate may represent alternative measures of the same biological clock.

Simplified