POV 17 - THE RACE TO LONGEVITY
The ties between human performance and longevity go beyond the fact they share common limiting factors like VO2max & strength in their pursuit of elevating performance for an extended duration.
Here, we will explore how principles from elite sports can be applied to longevity.
But before going deeper ...
SOME CONCEPTS
As there is no consensus on how to define the topics related to aging, we thought we would start by giving you how we, at LangLeven, define the following :
Aging - The normal physiological and cognitive decay of health
Lifespan - The total number of years lived
Healthspan - The number of healthy years spent free of disease or disability - accounts for the Quality of Life
Longevity - The result of all actions taken to lessen the rate of age-related decay
THE LONGEVITY INDUSTRY
Populations worldwide and especially those in developed countries are aging, and life expectancies - after having reached record highs - are plateauing or even decreasing.
Meanwhile, a significant share of people is keen on living longer - a third of US adult population would choose immortality - while the average desired lifespan of the two thirds remaining is around 103 years. Altogether, it creates an ideal ecosystem for the burgeoning of the longevity industry - set to reach the trillions of dollars by 2025.
AgeTech encompasses the many technologies to slow down the rate of aging or lessen its challenges. Constituent innovations can be segmented into wearables, consumer-grade testing kits, smart homes, longevity clinics, and geroprotective nutritional supplements & pharmacological drugs.
The race to extend healthspan is on, with investors and innovators exploring the potential for a healthy and lucrative future.
WHEN SPORTS AND LONGEVITY INTERSECT
As said previously, sports provide a model for achieving longevity, as both athletes and longevity seekers can equally benefit from careful long-term strategic planning & from available technologies in their race against time.
THE NORWEGIAN PERFORMANCE MODEL is one of the most popular training principle since the 1970s, when Norwegian endurance athletes disproportionately brought world titles and Olympic medals home.
In short, the model breaks down performance into three core systems :
- Metabolic,
- Physical,
- Mental
which are regularly monitored using leading edge Sports Tech wearables & biosensors to identify performance limiters, and reverse engineers plans to overcome such limiters.
APPLIED TO LONGEVITY Similarly, determinants of aging can be categorized into three biological systems - Metabolic, Physical and Cognitive - which can each be monitored and optimized to be successful at the longevity game.
The blueprint
Set longevity goals spanning all three systems relevant to aging. To this end, Peter Attia’s centenarian decathlon - listing 10 decade-long goals - aligns perfectly.
Assess personal baseline In order to properly plan a way to longevity and healthspan, one needs to know her/his current metrics.
Reverse engineer incremental and sustainable ways to reach long-term fitness, health and cognitive goals.
Monitor regularly with available technologies to determine personal trends, flag deviations from planned route and readjust accordingly.
DATA-DRIVEN LONGEVITY
You can't improve what you can't measure, applies to health & longevity, and one of the fastest-growing segment of AgeTech - namely biological age testing - tackles precisely the issue.
BIOLOGICAL AGE reflects the discrepancy between your biological and your chronological ages, can be used as a proxy to your current health status and healthspan. Ideally, a negative discrepancy—where your biological age is lower than your chronological age—signals a more envious health profile and potentially longer life without disabilities.
Discerning between the many options can be challenging, but put simply, most rely on one of the following technologies :
Blood (or saliva) panels - measure the circulating levels of biomolecules involved in health and associated to healthspan. Some options - InsideTracker, GlycanAge
Chromosomal health - measures the length of telomeres - the protective structures at the end of chromosomes. Telomeres shorten with time and can serve as chromosomal clocks.
Epigenetics clocks - DNA methylation regulates gene expression and reflects environmental exposures and lifestyles. Methylation patterns mark cell senescence and their location are associated with aging. Some options - AgeRate, Elysium, GrimAge, NOVOS, PuroVitalis, TruDiagnostic, TruMe
Skin photo aging - FaceAge, NOVOS rely on computer analysis of skin appearance to infer cellular health and age.
LONGEVITY aaS Other alternative to Biological age testing like AI-assisted model like Humanity are currently being trained to infer biological age-like scores from digital biomarkers such as movement, nutrition, mood, sleep quality, without the need to collect any biological matrices.
Oura recently unveiled Cardiovascular age feature suggests their interest for Longevity and should open the door to other wearables to follow suit.
FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT of the pillars of longevity - strength, cardiorespiratory, flexibility, and metabolism - against age and sex-specific normal ranges can also evaluate the state and rate of aging.
LONGEVITY CLINICS
Most successful athletes, at some point in their pursuit of excellence, will require external help from myriad of specialists. Following suit, gyms are hiring medical staff and CMOs and are dedicating programs and services to all things health & longevity. The lines between fitness, health and longevity are just beginning to blur.
CONCIERGE LONGEVITY MEDICINE Alongside the rise of at-home longevity solutions, there is a surge in gyms offering longevity services, ranging from à la carte programs like EGYM's BioAge to all-inclusive annual longevity check-ups. Longevity clinics are taking a significant swing at the market by offering everything from blood & genetic age panels to full body MRIs & DEXA, cardiorespiratory & cognitive testing, apnea & sleep quality assessment, nutrition counseling, and more.
SOON NEAR YOU The number of clinics and facilities offering such longevity programs is growing - see here for a non-exhaustive list : Biograph, Clinique La Prairie, ElevenEleven Wellness, Equinox Longevity, Fountain Life, Fountain of Youth, Human Longevity, Lifetime x MIORA, RoseBar, UltraWellness. Most are limited to one or a few locations, but be on the lookout for more franchises to populate and cross borders.
Accessibility to such a comprehensive longevity toolkit is still limited to the most privileged - eg Equinox Longevity program priced just below $40,000 USD annually, but offering is likely to expand as benefits on overall health, quality of life and healthspan are demonstrated, demand grows and decision-makers & governments recognize the ROI on health and societal economic burden.
A WORD OF ADVICE
The rapidly expanding arsenal of at-home longevity tools & therapies has not yet received complete FDA approval. Although generally safe - most relying on blood or saliva self-collection or biometrics - their effectiveness and reliability remain uncertain.
Companies competing in the space often maintain a degree of secrecy, while competing test results often vary widely or do not provide actionable longevity insights and are more akin to a gamified version of aging rather than a genuine means to longevity. Such lack of consistency makes it challenging for consumers to navigate the market and for healthcare professionals to interpret the results.
Consumers should handle these tools cautiously and acknowledge they aren't an end in themselves, but rather an integral part of a broader longevity solution.
AGING WISELY
It is crucial to maintain a balanced and holistic view on longevity so as not to fall into over-optimization at the cost of happiness.
Here again, borrowing from sports can be beneficial.
80-20 polarized approach to endurance sports - in which most efforts should be devoted to the foundational and most-impactful factors, before honing on the marginal gains - can apply to longevity.
- 80 - The fundamentals 1- Eat minimally processed foods, mostly plants, in sufficient amounts to replenish energy stores and to feel nourished & well. 2- Exercise and be active to maintain strength, muscle mass and VO2max. 3- Find purpose, stay curious and seek IRL social interactions.
- 20 - Marginal longevity gains Supplements with accumulating geroprotective evidence such as Resveratrol, NMN & other antioxidants blends, and pharmacological aids.
LONGEVITY ENHANCING DRUGS
In Longevity, unlike in Sports, performance-enhancing substances are not prohibited.
Many biotech companies are currently developing drugs to target longevity mediators and slow cellular aging processes, but the way to regulatory approval is still a long way ahead - at least until intermediate longevity markers are identified and accepted.
Despite the hurdles, the longevity biotech ecosystem is attracting unprecedented levels of capital - though it remains relatively small in terms of overall capital allocation when compared to traditional curative biotechnology. The current reshaping of the healthcare system towards prevention should be of help, as longevity cannot be considered in isolation from health.
Many projects and consortiums, like the blue zone project and xprize, aim to create international networks of experts and stakeholders dedicated to exploring and implementing practices to advance healthspan for the benefits of all.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
It's natural to start focusing on health and fitness as one ages, but there's certainly an advantage to getting a head start in the race for longevity to compound benefits over time.
However, it's never too late to initiate positive changes, as age-related declines can be influenced at any stage of life. The key is to embrace health & longevity-promoting changes, regardless of when and where you begin.
The rising popularity of Masters' sports events is testament to older adults' ability to remain active and competitive.
So what are you waiting to get going? The next Masters' are waiting for you !
