Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the inevitability of ageing, we have the power to make daily choices that not only potentially extend our lifespan, but also enhance the quality and vitality of the years we experience.
Thanks to advancements in medical science, the average global life expectancy has seen a remarkable increase, more than doubling over the last century. However, this leap in lifespan hasn’t always been matched by an increase in healthy, disease-free years.
While people are living longer, many are also spending more time dealing with chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. This highlights the crucial distinction between lifespan – the total number of years one lives – and healthspan – the years one lives in good health, devoid of chronic diseases.
It’s helpful to start with understanding why there is a difference between lifespan and healthspan. Lifespan is simply a measure of time that tells us how long we have been alive since our birth, we call this our chronological age. It’s an effective measure of time, but doesn’t really tell us much about you as the individual or about your health. Healthspan refers to the number of years a person has lived in relative health, largely free from injury, illness, or chronic disease. All the choices we make in our life such as diet, exercise, sleep quality, and stress management, as well as the influence of our mind, emotions, and the environment, influence our healthspan, and the effect of these influences can be measured with our biological age, or how old our bodies are.
What is the difference between chronological age and biological age?
Chronological age
Chronological age is the straightforward count of how many years you’ve lived since birth. It’s a simple calculation based on your birth date and doesn’t take into account your physical, mental, emotional, or biological condition. For example, if you were born on February 1, 1970, and today is February 14, 2024, your chronological age would be 54.03 years. Chronological age is used in various legal, social, and educational contexts to determine age-related qualifications such as voting eligibility, retirement benefits, school enrollment, and age-specific legal rights or responsibilities – but actually tells us very little about you as a person or your health.
Biological age
Biological age, in contrast to chronological age, refers to how old a person seems to be physiologically, based on various biomarkers of health and ageing, rather than the amount of time since their birth. It assesses the physiological condition of an individual’s body and can provide insight into their overall health, fitness, and risk for age-related diseases. A combination of genetic factors, lifestyle choices, environmental exposures, and chronic diseases influences biological age.
There are several methods and biomarkers used to estimate biological age, including but not limited to:
- Telomere length: Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten with each cell division. Shorter telomeres are associated with ageing and increased risk of age-related diseases
- Epigenetic markers: Changes in DNA methylation patterns are associated with ageing. Epigenetic clocks can predict biological age by assessing these patterns
- Pace of ageing: Estimates how fast or slow a person is ageing biologically compared to chronologically. A score of 1.0 or above means you are ageing faster, and a score below 1.0 means you are ageing slower
- Proteomics: The study of proteomes (the entire set of proteins produced in an organism) can reveal changes in protein levels that correlate with ageing
- Metabolomics: This involves analysing metabolites in the body, which can show changes in metabolism and indicate the biological ageing process
- Imaging tests: Advanced imaging techniques can assess the physiological age of organs and systems in the body, such as the brain, heart, and bones
- Physical fitness tests: Assessments of strength, endurance, and flexibility can also provide insights into an individual’s biological age
Biological age is significant because it can better predict the risk of age-related diseases, functional capacity, and mortality than chronological age alone. It can also motivate individuals to adopt healthier lifestyles to potentially reduce their biological age and improve overall health and longevity.
What is the difference between healthspan and lifespan?
Healthspan and lifespan are intertwined aspects of ageing. While lifespan measures the total years you live, healthspan focuses on the portion of your life spent in good health and with functional ability. Understanding the distinction between lifespan and healthspan is crucial as it shifts the focus from merely extending the quantity of life to improving the quality of those years.
Lifespan
Lifespan refers to the total duration of your life, from birth to death. It is the maximum amount of time you live.
The focus is on the quantity of years lived, without necessarily considering the quality of those years in terms of health, functionality, or well-being.
Increasing lifespan has been a primary goal of medicine and public health, leading to improvements in healthcare, nutrition, and living conditions that have extended average life expectancy in many parts of the world.
Healthspan
Healthspan, on the other hand, refers to the portion of your life that is spent in good health or free from chronic disease and disability. It focuses on the quality of the years lived, emphasising the importance of being healthy and functional.
The goal of extending healthspan is not just to add more years to life, but to add more life to those years by maintaining physical, mental, emotional and social well-being for as long as possible.
Efforts to increase healthspan involve promoting healthy lifestyles, including proper nutrition, regular exercise, stress management, and preventive healthcare measures to reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
Why should I be interested in my biological age if I want to improve my healthspan?
I find that when people are beginning their health optimisation journey they are intrigued by the concept of biological age, and want to know why it is important. I explain to them that this is your opportunity to wind back the hands of time and age younger.
Research has shown that our extrinsic biological age, that is affected by the environment, our lifestyle, and our lived experience, has the most significant impact on how we age.
Your biological age offers a clearer picture of your overall health and ageing process than your chronological age.
By knowing your biological age, you can pinpoint areas where your health may be lagging and implement targeted interventions – such as tailored nutrition, exercise, stress management, and sleep improvement strategies. This personalised approach not only helps in slowing down the ageing process but also in enhancing your body’s resilience, potentially extending your healthspan and improving the quality of your life.
Here’s some of the specific ways understanding your biological age can help improve your healthspan:
- Indicator of physiological health: Biological age provides a more nuanced understanding of your health than chronological age. It reflects the physiological condition of the body, including the efficiency of bodily systems and the presence of age-related changes or diseases. By assessing biological age, you can get a clearer picture of your overall health status
- Predictive value for age-related diseases: Biological age can help predict the risk of developing age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer. If your biological age is higher than your chronological age, it may indicate an increased risk of these conditions
- Personalised health interventions: Understanding your biological age can guide personalised health interventions. For instance, if specific biomarkers suggest premature ageing in certain bodily systems, targeted interventions (like dietary changes, exercise, or medication) can be implemented to address those areas, potentially reversing or slowing the ageing process in those systems
- Monitoring the effectiveness of lifestyle changes: Biological age can serve as a benchmark to monitor the effectiveness of lifestyle changes and interventions aimed at improving healthspan. By tracking changes in biological age and the pace of ageing over time, you can see tangible evidence of how your efforts (such as improved diet, regular exercise, stress management, and avoiding harmful substances) are impacting your health, which can be highly motivating
- Focus on prevention: Knowing your biological age can shift the focus from treating diseases after they occur to preventing them in the first place. This preventative approach is fundamental to extending healthspan, as it emphasises maintaining health and functional ability rather than merely extending life irrespective of its quality
- Enhanced quality of life: Ultimately, the interest in biological age stems from a desire to enhance the quality of life. By understanding and potentially lowering their biological age, you can enjoy more years of good health, independence, and well-being, thereby improving your healthspan
Biological age is a critical metric if you want to extend your healthspan. It offers insights into your true health status, helps identify potential health risks early, and allows for the monitoring of progress toward health goals. This, in turn, empowers you to make informed decisions about your health and lifestyle.
FAQs
What are the most effective lifestyle changes to improve my healthspan and potentially extend my lifespan?
The most effective lifestyle changes for improving healthspan and potentially extending lifespan include adopting a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins; engaging in regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week); maintaining a healthy weight; managing stress through mindfulness, meditation, or therapy; ensuring adequate sleep (7-9 hours per night for most adults); and avoiding harmful behaviours like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. These changes can reduce the risk of chronic diseases, improve physical and mental health, and enhance quality of life.
These are the things that all of us can and should be doing every day to build a strong foundation for health and maintain that for the long term. But there is much more that we can do to personalise your approach to optimal health, and it all starts with understanding your DNA. Your DNA is your unique fingerprint to who you are and how you operate. Whilst we can’t change your DNA, by knowing your genetic makeup, you can capitalise on your genetic strengths and compensate for your genetic vulnerabilities, or simply, turn on the good genes and turn off the bad ones.
How does biological age differ from chronological age, and why is it important for longevity and healthy ageing?
Biological age reflects the physiological and functional condition of your body, while chronological age is the amount of time since your birth. Biological age is important for longevity and healthy ageing because it provides a more accurate picture of your health status and risk for age-related diseases than chronological age. It can help identify early signs of accelerated ageing or resilience against age-related decline, allowing for targeted interventions to improve health outcomes and potentially extend healthspan.
What are the key biomarkers for assessing healthspan and biological age?
Key biomarkers for assessing healthspan and biological age include telomere length, which indicates cellular ageing; DNA methylation patterns, which reflect epigenetic age, pace of ageing, how fast or slow we age biologically each year, levels of inflammation and oxidative stress; blood sugar and lipid profiles, which gauge metabolic health; and markers of organ function (such as kidney, liver, and heart health). Physical fitness measures, such as strength, endurance, and flexibility, also provide valuable insights into your biological age and overall healthspan.
Can interventions like diet, exercise, or supplements reverse aspects of ageing and improve healthspan?
Yes, certain interventions can positively impact ageing processes and improve healthspan. Calorie restriction and diets rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods (like the Mediterranean diet) can reduce the risk of chronic diseases and may slow ageing at the cellular level. Regular physical activity, including both aerobic and resistance training, can improve heart health, muscle strength, and cognitive function, effectively “reversing” some aspects of ageing. While some supplements, such as those containing antioxidants, particularly polyphenols, have been associated with health benefits, their ability to reverse ageing is less clear and often depends on individual health status and diet. It’s important to approach supplements with caution and consult healthcare providers for personalised advice.
What role do genetics play in lifespan and healthspan, and can lifestyle modifications overcome genetic predispositions?
Genetics play a significant role in determining lifespan and healthspan, influencing susceptibility to certain diseases and overall longevity. However, lifestyle modifications can have a profound impact on health outcomes, often mitigating genetic predispositions. Research shows that adopting healthy behaviours can significantly reduce the risk of chronic diseases, improve physical and cognitive function, and extend healthspan, even for individuals with higher genetic risks. The interplay between genetics and lifestyle suggests that while we may not be able to change our genetic makeup, we can influence how those genes affect our health and longevity through our lifestyle choices.
