By Julie E 
Photo Credit ( Pixabay )
As they say, you’re only as old as you feel, and recent research suggests that some of us are actually aging more slowly than we were twenty years ago.
While biological ageing—the wear and tear on our bodies’ cells—appears to be slowing down in certain situations, it doesn’t imply you have to wait more than a year between birthday celebrations.
A population’s biological age is a useful measure of its overall health, and if it is slowing down, it indicates that people are not only living longer but also in better health.
The research team examined nutritional and health data from 1988 to 2010 for 21,575 US adults under the age of 80. They looked at information on blood pressure, organ function, metabolism, inflammation, and breath capacity.
“Eileen M. Crimmins from the University of Southern California (USC), the senior author of the new study, states that “this is the first evidence we have of delayed ‘ageing’ among a nationwide sample of Americans.”
Researchers measured blood levels of albumin, C-reactive protein, creatinine (linked to renal function), haemoglobin, total cholesterol, and alkaline phosphatase (linked to liver disease).
The researchers discovered complete sets of data for seventy percent of their sample, all of which can show how fit and healthy a body is.
There are many external indicators as well; not everyone is fortunate to maintain the same degree of health and wellbeing as we age. That is the process of biological aging.
The study discovered that, although the gap varies depending on age and gender, biological age is lower for recent eras across all age groups. The scientists believe that changes in medicine use, obesity, and smoking are partially to blame.
With an average biological age decrease of more than 4 years between the 1990s and the 2000s, males aged 60 to 79 shown the largest improvement; in other words, they were generally physiologically healthier than men in the same age group a decade earlier.
The researchers stress that in order to prevent any segments of the population from losing out on a better quality of life, efforts must be taken to maintain these kinds of advancements across all age groups and genders.
According to Morgan E. Levine of Yale University in Connecticut, one of the team members, “this could also signal problems for younger cohorts, particularly females, who – if their improvements are more minimal – may not see the same gains in life expectancy as experienced by the generations that came before them.”
Because it means that people are living longer before they are at a higher risk of major illness and disability, biological aging is essential for society as a whole.
Even though this study only looked at US citizens, it gives us all hope that advances in healthcare and healthier habits may improve our quality of life in later years rather than merely lengthening our lives.
For instance, women in the US can anticipate living an additional 20 years after they are 65. However, only 11 people will be disease-free on average.
Furthermore, how can we halt the natural aging process? There’s no secret recipe, just the standard advice to quit smoking, eat well, and keep up the exercise.
“Lifespan extension accomplished through a deceleration of the ageing process will lead to lower health care expenditures, higher productivity and greater well-being,” Levine states.