Longevity is something many people hope for, but it’s important to think about quality over quantity. The ideal is to have a beautiful, healthy and quality old age and truly enjoy life.
Due to the rapid aging of the world’s population and increasing life expectancy, In 2050, the number of people in Chile over the age of 60 will double, and the number of people over the age of 80 will triple.It is therefore important that science finds the most appropriate path to a better old age as quickly as possible.
With this in mind, new research has found a way Biological aging can be delayed by six years by following a few simple eight steps Improve heart health.
Biological age is a measure of the health and functional status of an organism compared to its actual age in years. While chronological age is calculated by simply counting the number of years since a person was born, Biological age refers to the actual age of an organism based on various factors. Relating to your health and your physical and biological functions.
In their study, they found that having good cardiovascular health slows the rate of biological aging, which can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other age-related diseases while extending lifespan.
On the other hand, factors such as chronic stress, poor diet, and lack of exercise can speed up the aging process and make your biological age older than your chronological age.
“We found that better cardiovascular health, as measured by phenotypic age, was associated with slower biological aging. We also found a dose-dependent association“As heart health improves, biological aging decreases,” Dr. Nour Makarem, the study’s senior author and an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, said in an American Heart Association news release.
Phenotypic age is a concept that refers to a person’s appearance, body, and biological state in relation to his or her actual age. Unlike biological age, which focuses on specific indicators of health and biological functioning, phenotypic age is based on an overall assessment of a person’s appearance and physical condition. This includes skin elasticity, bone density, the appearance of wrinkles and expression lines, hair and nail health, and more.
“Phenotypic age is a practical tool for assessing the biological aging process in our bodies and is a powerful predictor of future risk of disease and death,” Makarem said.
The analysis used data from more than 6,500 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2015 to 2018 and found Participants with good cardiovascular health had a negative phenotypic acceleration in age, meaning they were younger than physiologically expected.
In contrast, people with poor cardiovascular health have phenotypic accelerations greater than their chronological age, meaning they are older than physiologically expected.
According to research, The biological age of adults with good cardiovascular health is, on average, six years younger than their chronological age. For example, the actual average age of people with good cardiovascular health is 41, but their average biological age is 36; the actual average age of people with poor cardiovascular health is 53, the statement explains. This is despite their average biological age being 57 years.
To find out, researchers used the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 Checklist, which lists eight key lifestyle behaviors for improving and maintaining optimal cardiovascular health.
“Try to follow an overall healthy eating pattern that includes whole foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, nuts, seeds, and cooking with non-tropical oils like olive and canola oil.”
“Adults should have two and a half hours of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity each week. “Children should have 60 minutes a day, including games and organized activities. “
“Use of inhaled nicotine products, including traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes and vaporizers, is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, with about one-third of those deaths from heart disease. About one-third of U.S. children ages 3 to 11 are exposed Secondhand smoke or e-cigarettes.”
“Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Children need more: 10 to 16 hours, including naps, for children 5 and under; 9 to 12 hours for ages 6 to 12; and 8 hours for ages 13 to 18 to 10 hours. “Adequate sleep promotes recovery, improves brain function, and reduces the risk of chronic disease. “
“There are many benefits to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Body mass index, which is the ratio of weight to height, is a useful indicator. Optimal BMI is 25. You can calculate it online or talk to a health professional.”
“High levels of non-HDL, or “bad” cholesterol, can lead to heart disease. “Your healthcare professional may consider non-HDL cholesterol (rather than total cholesterol) as the preferred number to monitor because it It can be measured without prior fasting and can be estimated reliably in all people. “
“Most of the food we eat is converted into glucose (or blood sugar), which our bodies use for energy. Over time, high blood sugar levels can damage the heart, kidneys, eyes, and nerves. As part of the test, monitor Hemoglobin A1c may better reflect the long-term management of patients with diabetes or prediabetes.”
“Keeping your blood pressure within an acceptable range can keep you healthier for longer. Optimal levels are less than 120/80 mmHg. “High blood pressure is defined as a systolic blood pressure of 130 to 139 mmHg (the one at the top of the reading numbers) or a diastolic blood pressure of 80 to 89 mm Hg (the numbers at the bottom). “
“Improving compliance with all Life’s Essential 8 metrics and improving cardiovascular health can slow the body’s aging process and provide many benefits later in life. “Reduced biological aging is associated not only with a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, but also with longer life and a lower risk of death,” Makarem said.
However, a limitation of the study is that cardiovascular indicators were measured only at specific moments rather than over time, which does not give exact certainty about the study results.
Even so, these findings help to understand the link between chronological and biological age, and the importance of following healthy habits over time to live a longer, better quality life.
“Everyone wants to live longer, but “Above all, we want to live healthier and longer so that we can truly enjoy and have a good quality of life for as many years as possible,” Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, chair of the “Life’s Essential 8” writing group and former volunteer president of the American Heart Association, said in a statement.