Your body gets much older at these two ages, research shows

Aging happens not only gradually but also in distinct bouts between the ages of about 44 and 60, according to new research.

Starting in your early 40s, you will experience changes in fat and alcohol metabolism, while your kidney function, carbohydrate metabolism, and immune regulation decline around age 60. The researchers also noted significant changes in the risk of skin, muscle and heart disease in both the 40s and 60s.

The study included only 108 people in California between the ages of 25 and 75, and more research is needed to confirm the results. However, these findings could lead to new diagnostic tests and preventive strategies for aging-related diseases.

Living a long time is not necessarily associated with a healthy or active old age. For most people, their average “health time” — the time spent in good health — is 11–15 years shorter than their lifetime, according to Michael Snyder, PhD, senior author of the study and director of the Center for Genomics. and Personalized Medicine at Stanford University.

“We want to extend their health time by the same length and ideally extend their lifespan a bit,” Snyder told Verywell in an email.

Midlife is important for healthy aging

Previous research has shown that your health in midlife, typically between the ages of 40 and 65, plays a big role in how healthy you are later in life. A 2018 study in the journal Nutrients link certain lifestyle factors in midlife—such as having a healthy body weight, being physically active, eating a high-quality diet, and not smoking—with improved health in aging.

Report 2020 published in the magazine The Lancet too showed it the Middle Ages marks an important transitional period in brain health. Controlling blood pressure and being active socially, intellectually and physically during this stage of life can help reduce the risk of dementia in the future, according to this report.

The new study adds to this growing body of research on health outcomes and highlights the importance of developing certain lifestyle habits earlier in life.

“Your health in your 60s, 70s or 80s is really determined by what you do in the decades before that,” said Kenneth Boockvar, MD, director of the Center for Integrative Aging Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who was not involved. in the study.

It’s too early to make specific recommendations based on this new study, but people who want to be healthy in their 60s should start thinking about their diet and lifestyle in their 40s and 50s, he added.

Aging is inevitable, but lifestyle changes improve health

The new study found that molecules and microbes associated with aging decline at certain points in life, but future research is needed to determine whether the same molecular changes occur in different groups of people.

“We want to introduce more people across the country to see if what we’re seeing is true for everyone — not just those in the Bay Area,” Snyder said. “And we want to differentiate between men and women. Women live longer and we want to understand why.

Aging is inevitable, but making certain lifestyle changes can help reduce some of the risks associated with aging-related diseases. However, many other factors, such as the environment, economic stability, and access to health care and education, also affect healthy aging and are not easily controlled by individuals.

Snyder said people can make small lifestyle changes by staying hydrated to support kidney health, building muscle with weight training and taking cholesterol medications if their LDL cholesterol rises.

“It probably won’t stop aging, but it will reduce the problems we saw and help prolong people’s health,” he added.