[LUM#4] Move More, Age Less
Is physical activity the key to eternal youth? In any case, it’s the surest path to healthy aging. That’s excellent news in a world where life expectancy keeps rising…
For a long time, old age was seen asthe final stage of life. “Even in the 1970s, anyone over 65 was considered an old person,” explains Jean-Marie Robine. “We thought back then that we had reached the limits of human potential in terms of longevity, ”recalls the head of the “Longevity and Vitality” team atthe “Molecular Mechanisms in Neurodegenerative Dementias”laboratory. Life expectancy, however, continues to rise. It now stands at 86 years for women and 78 years for men, placing France at the top of the European rankings.
Aging in good health
So much so that a new category has emerged: the fourth age. And why not a fifth age soon? Because life expectancy continues to rise, increasing by three months every year.“The fourth age is getting longer, with its inevitable share of physical difficulties,” warns Jean-Marie Robine. For while life expectancy continues to rise, “disability-free” life expectancy, as researchers put it, is stagnating. And France is not exactly a model student.“We may be first in Europe for life expectancy, but we rank only tenth when it comes to disability-free life expectancy,” notes Grégory Ninot, director of the CEPS Platform, a center for evaluating health prevention programs and non-pharmacological interventions.
And when it comes to the effects of aging, we’re not all equal… While some centenarians continue to hop on their bikes every morning, some people in their seventies are already struggling to get around. Where does this inequality come from? Partly from genetic factors: they account for 25% of how well we age. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For the remaining 75%, the determining factor is lifestyle. This is good news, because while it is—still—impossible to change one’s genetic makeup, we can adopt behaviors that promote healthier aging.
Pierre Louis Bernard, a researcher at the European Movement Research Center ( EuroMov), is collaborating with Grégory Ninot to study the effects of physical activity on aging.“Engaging in physical activity leads to a very significant improvement in independence and quality of life,” the experts emphasize. That doesn’t mean you need to train for a marathon, however: the researchers recommend engaging in moderate physical activity on a regular basis, such as walking—ideally five 30-minute sessions per week.“What matters most is consistency,” explains Grégory Ninot. “As for the rest, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution; the ideal approach is to offer personalized care.”
Customized physical activity
A "tailored" approach that involves assessing older adults’ health status to recommend physical activities suited to their needs. The program “Balance and Fall Prevention to Improve Independence in Older Adults,” launched as part of the Macvia project, is based on this personalized prevention approach.“This program, implemented in partnership with Montpellier University Hospital, involves visiting each older adult in the municipalities to assess their individual functional abilities and plan appropriate physical activities,” explains Pierre Louis Bernard. The goal : to reduce the risk of falls, one of the leading causes of hospitalization and dependency among seniors.
“Physical activity helps people take charge of their health and play an active role in how they age,”adds Pierre Louis Bernard. And even if you’ve always been sedentary, experts remind us that it’s never too late to start:“No matter what age you start exercising or what your current health status is, physical activity always provides tangible benefits.”
Conscientious people age better
What if our personality influenced how we age?“There are personality traits associated with an increase or decrease in age-related decline,” explains Yannick Stephan of the Epsylon Laboratory. For example, conscientious people who are highly organized and demonstrate a strong tendency toward self-discipline are more likely to age well.“Probably because being conscientious leads them to engage in fewer risky behaviors—smoking, alcohol, a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet…,” explains the researcher specializing in health and aging psychology. This is in contrast to anxious individuals, who exhibit a high level of emotional instability. “Anxious individuals are thus at greater risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease or Alzheimer’s disease,” explains the researcher. Do we need to change to age better? “We can’t change people’s personalities, ” emphasizes Yannick Stephan, “but we can identify those at risk and implement preventive measures to improve the quality of aging.”
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