Biohacking is all about increasing healthspan and longevity. Those are not the same thing. Healthspan is how long are you healthy — able to do the things you want, be active, exercise, travel, and more. Lifespan/longevity is your age.
The Journal of American Medicine published a study in 2024 where they looked at “healthspan life-span gaps” — that difference between healthy living vs age in countries all over the world. The healthspan lifespan gap is the number of years you live burdened by disease. “Global Healthspan-Lifespan Gaps Among 183 World Health Organization Member States.” They looked at gender and correlations of the gap with morbidity and mortality. Who did the worst?
First the terms:
- HEALTHSPAN is the health-adjusted life expectancies where years are weighted by health status. This includes health and quality of life.
- LIFESPAN is how long you live.
- HEALTHSPAN LIFESPAN GAP is the amount of life you live burdened by disease.
Study:
- Healthspan Lifespan gaps were looked at 183 countries
- Over the past two decades, global life expectancy has increased. This was NOT matched by an equal increase in healthspan.
- Globally, the mean gap was 9.6 years. The average healthspan is 63.3 years, average life expectancy was 72.5 years.
- Women had a 2.4 (0.5 year) WIDER gap than men, they thought due to the larger burden of noncommunicable diseases in women. This was the worst in Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, and Lebanon.
- The U.S. PRESENTED THE LARGEST HEALTHSPAN LIFESPAN GAP, at 12.4 years, brought mostly by rise in noncommunicable diseases. The other big gaps were Australia, New Zealand, UK, and Norway. Noncommunicable diseases are those that are not communicable (like viruses, bacterial infections). These were mental and substance abuse, musculoskeletal diseases, and for women, urinary and neurological diseases as well.
They found the U.S. gap has increased over the past two decades. Life expectancy is now 80.7 in women and 76.3 years in men. But healthspan did not change during this period for women, and it changed a small amount in men, leading to the increased gap.
They conclude, “The UN Decade of Healthy Aging aspires to evolve societal focus from longevity to healthy longevity.” We at Biohackr Health agree! Speaking to the choir.
How Can Biohackr Health Help?
AGE BETTER. This is the core of what we want and believe in. This involves you.
- START NOW. No matter what your age, the better your health and habits early, the better you will age. Look at blood pressure. Cholesterol. Blood sugar. Muscle mass. Hormone levels. Prevention is truly the key. Old medicine is to wait until a number is “abnormal” and then treat. That has allowed years of damage. Do changes to avoid getting too abnormal.
- FIND OUT WHAT YOUR ISSUES ARE. TEST. Modern testing has allowed us to know so much earlier about what YOUR issues are. Is it cancer risk? heart disease? blood sugar? This involves blood testing, scans like the cardiac calcium scan and V02 max.
- BE AT A GOOD WEIGHT. The data is conclusive that a healthy weight is just that — healthy. It lowers your risk for almost every other disease process (cancer, heart disease, diabetes), and lower weight is less stressful for your joints and bones. With all of our tools to aid with weight loss — from probiotics, NAD, semaglutide and tirzepatide, metformin — you have no excuse.
- MOVE. Tons of studies show movement lowers all-cause mortality. This is walking, vacuuming, raking, walking up the stairs instead of the elevator. Yes, you can go to the gym, but you need to focus on increasing activity throughout your day.
- EDUCATE. We are constantly evolving in our recommendations. As new data comes out, read our blogs and see what it says. We are science based. We carry products that we research to find the best products, focusing on science, quality, and effectiveness.
- MEET WITH OUR DOCTORS. Overwhelmed? Don’t know where to start? Meet with our doctors to be guided on how to start.
But start. It is never to too late to live better.