As the BBC reports, Eric Verdin, president and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in California, says: "Based on what we know today, most people could expect to live to 90 or even 95 in good health if they optimized their lifestyle. And that's a very different prospect to the current situation, where most people get to 65 or 70 in good health, only to get sick and suffer all the hardships of old age." Verdin emphasizes that it is never too late to improve your health, at any age, through positive lifestyle changes: doing more physical activity, eating better or reducing alcohol consumption. However, the benefits may be greater if you start earlier.
In particular, researchers have identified the 30s as a crucial decade, during which various physiological systems – from muscle mass and strength to bone density and metabolic regulation – begin to show the first slight changes related to aging. “This period represents an important opportunity to consolidate behaviors that build lasting resilience,” says João Passos, professor of physiology at the Kogod Center on Aging at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
To understand how healthy aging is possible, researchers who study the aging process often focus on groups of people who deviate from usual trends, such as master athletes, i.e. those under 35 who regularly participate in sports competitions, in running, cycling or other disciplines. These people would show a higher peak in cardiovascular function and muscle strength and function, followed by a later decline. According to the researchers, learning from them, we should reach the highest level of physical fitness possible during our 30s, especially regarding aerobic capacity, flexibility and muscle strength. Playing sports is a great way to achieve this goal.
As for running, it seems to be a useful activity for reducing the aging process. But, studies underline, it may be necessary to rethink the practice of marathons: subjecting the body to extreme efforts could instead accelerate certain aspects of biological aging. According to Aditi Gurkar, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, we can all gain some benefits related to healthy aging through relatively simple habits. “Even a brisk 15-minute walk after a meal can make a significant difference,” she says.
As important as the body is, the brain is also. And consequently, everything that can be associated with cognitive diseases. First of all, the topic of dental health: many studies have in fact repeatedly linked the development of periodontal disease - a gum disease characterized by increased inflammation - to a greater risk of cognitive decline in old age.
Your 30s could also be the right time to start reducing alcohol consumption, which is associated with mechanisms that accelerate aging as well as sleep disorders. According to researchers, it is important to start finding sleep regularity to build a healthy lifestyle.
Another fundamental factor for aging well is nutrition. For example, one idea could be to increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables at the expense of ultra-processed foods. These are substances that help protect cells from a form of damage called oxidative stress.
Researchers are therefore convinced that choices made in early adulthood can have a lasting impact on how we age. “By maintaining healthier habits throughout your 30s, we could prevent or delay subtle molecular and cellular changes that, if left untreated, accumulate over time and contribute to functional decline throughout your 70s,” says João Passos, professor of physiology at the Kogod Center on Aging at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota: “I don't think we can stop aging this way, but we can certainly influence its path.”
