Death is inevitable. But the journey getting there is far from universal.
The average life expectancy at birth worldwide is now around 73 years but varies widely between countries and even between individual states in America. I, and presumably many readers, know some people who have barely lost a step as they’ve gotten older, as well as people who sharply declined as they entered their golden years. These realities invite the question: How can we significantly slow down our biological clock? And will we get any closer to a fountain of youth in the near future?
The not-so-centennial man
There’s some good and bad news.
First, the bad news. There’s probably a hard limit to our longevity. A study last year found that, while life expectancy has continued to grow pretty much everywhere since the start of the 20th century, the rate of increase has substantially sunk in the U.S. and other high-income countries over the past 30 years. Only around 3% of women and 1% of men in the U.S. today are even expected to reach 100. This and other research suggests that radical life extension is off the table, at least for the foreseeable future.
Not all hope is lost, though. Many researchers in the aging field have started to call for a new perspective. Rather than simply focus on extending our lifespan, they argue, we should also work to improve our healthspan—the years of relatively good health we have left in our hourglass. This isn’t a strict distinction. Research on the oldest known humans has found they’re generally healthier than the average person throughout their lives. But there are also people who still die in their 70s or 80s while experiencing few of the chronic health issues that commonly plague their peers beforehand.
The obvious ABCs of longevity
The good news is that there are several evidence-backed ways to boost or maintain our health as we age. Many of these shouldn’t come as a surprise, like physical activity. Any amount and form of exercise, whether it’s jogging, weightlifting, or flexibility training, is good for you, no matter your age.
“There is no question that regular exercise is associated with improved lifespan and healthy lifestyle,” Sanjai Sinha, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System and a physician at The Health Center at Hudson Yards, told Gizmodo. “There are data that link exercise to decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases.”
Diet, too, plays a pivotal role in slowing the clock. Many different diets have been linked to longevity and general health, but the most consistent, according to Sinha, is the Mediterranean diet. This diet encourages eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, olive oil, a moderate consumption of fish and poultry, and limited intake of red and processed meats, refined sugars, and saturated fats. A 2023 review of 40 clinical trials found the Mediterranean diet outperformed six other diets in prolonging life among people with higher cardiovascular risk.
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