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Ever notice at your high school reunions how some classmates look ten years older than everybody else - and some look ten years younger. Now BBC reports that a study of people born within a year of each other has uncovered a huge gulf in the speed at which human bodies bodies age. The report tracked traits such as weight, kidney function and gum health and found that some of the 38-year-olds in the study were aging so badly that their "biological age" was on the cusp of retirement. "They look rough, they look lacking in vitality," says Prof Terrie Moffitt. The study says some people had almost stopped aging during the period of the study, while others were gaining nearly three years of biological age for every twelve months that passed. "Any area of life where we currently use chronological age is faulty, if we knew more about biological age we could be more fair and egalitarian," says Moffitt.
The researchers studied aging in 954 young humans, the Dunedin Study birth cohort, tracking multiple biomarkers across three time points spanning their third and fourth decades of life. They developed and validated two methods by which aging can be measured in young adults, one cross-sectional and one longitudinal. According to Moffit the science of healthspan extension may be focused on the wrong end of the lifespan; rather than only studying old humans, geroscience should also study the young. "Eventually if we really want to slow the process of aging to prevent the onset of disease we're going to have to intervene with young people."
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by arslan on Wednesday July 08 2015, @02:22AM
Everyone I know... those that lead a healthy lifestyle or doesn't have some predisposed illness tend to look younger than their age..
(Score: 2) by timbim on Wednesday July 08 2015, @02:39AM
What do you define as a healthy lifestyle?
(Score: 3, Informative) by Reziac on Wednesday July 08 2015, @02:47AM
Biggest thing? Don't smoke. And limit exposure to smoke.
After age 50, get thyroid checked (T3, not TSH test). Makes a huge difference. Most of what we think of as "diseases of aging" are just decline in conversion of T4 to T3.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Wednesday July 08 2015, @01:07PM
Don't forget to avoid sunlight. I remember when I first started noticing the "hot women my age who were always suntanned" now look like they're permanently wearing leather. Gross.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday July 08 2015, @02:11PM
Yeah. A photographer friend says you can actually see this damage quite directly with a UV lens filter. Shows up as patches on the skin.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2015, @10:22AM
May also help to learn how to relax (what helps for me is to slowly breathe in and out deeply three or more times every now and then).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2015, @11:04AM
You forget alcohol consumption. I consider avoiding alcohol as part of my healthy lifestyle. I never actually had a full drink, but I had sipped some champagne and beer when I was younger.
(Score: 2) by timbim on Thursday July 09 2015, @05:13PM
It's true, alcohol is a solvent. I drink though.
(Score: 2) by jimshatt on Wednesday July 08 2015, @10:42AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 08 2015, @11:01AM
Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that they tend to look like their age, while everyone else looks older?