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This was an article out of Canada. It starts by talking about how their country is going to become a “super-aged” country in 2025, where at least 20% of the population is over the age of 65. It then talks about if you survive to 65, you are expected to live another 20 years on average, so the number of 85 year olds is going to skyrocket. Many of these extra years though are not disease free- they say 30% of these older people will have 2 or more chronic conditions.
This is the key to healthspan. Our goal with biohacking is not just to live longer, it is to live healthy longer.
Physical activity is a risk factor for over 30 chronic conditions in older adults- diabetes, lung disease, depression, osteoporosis, dementia, cancer, heart failure- and it is MODIFIABLE. That means, doing activity can lower your risk and impairment from chronic diseases.
I am going to overwhelm you with data below. For those with no attention span, know that there is study after study affirming that physical activity is critical to aging better and objectively reduces all cause mortality. Ways to do this:
- PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. This is aerobic activity that increases your heart rate, from walking, biking, swimming, to housework.
- RESISTANCE TRAINING. You need to build muscle. This has been shown to independently improve your mortality risk.
- VO2 MAX. This is a measurement (you can get it done at Biohackr) to see what your oxygen consumption is with exercise. It correlates directly with mortality.
- BALANCE and FALL PREVENTION by improved muscle strength, bone density, and balance and coordination.
So what does that look like? This study was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, January 2025, “Move more, age well: prescribing physical activity for older adults.” This was a review. Key points they bring up:
- WHO recommends older adults get 150-300 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a week, along with strength training 2 times a week and balance exercises 3 x a week.
- A 2015 meta review found even lower volumes of activity (83-165 minutes) of moderate activity were able to reduce risk of morbidity and mortality by 22%.
- 2019 met study found adults over 40 yo with higher activity had reduced risk of death in a dose response relationship.
- 2019 observational study, resistance exercise had reduced mortality independent of aerobic exercise
- 2022 meta analysis study 60 minutes of resistance a week had risk reduction of 27% all cause mortality
- 2022 meta analysis study muscle strengthening for 30-60 minutes/week has a 10-20% reduction in mortality
- Handgrip strength is inversely linearly related to all cause mortality
- 2018 review- handgrip and knee extension strength predicted all cause mortality in adults.
- Cardiorespiratory fitness– peak exercise capacity is a better indicator of risk of death than other factors like smoking, high blood pressure, and diabetes
- Study: dose dependent mortality reduction in all age groups looking at VO2 max (your maximum rate of oxygen consumption with exercise)
- V02 max is a strong indicator of mortality
- 2016 study showed exercise reduced falls by 21%
- 2021 meta analysis showed randomized controlled trials that those who did exercise programs 5 days a week had reduced fall risk
- 2021 study of Pilates improved balance, strength, flexibility, and reduced falls
- Other studies showed the fall prevention benefit of tai chi, HIIT training, and more.
- 2018 review of risk factors for osteoarthritis- multifactorial from inflammation, trauma, and metabolic health. “Very high levels of physical activity may increase the risk of osteoarthritis developing, but moderate levels of physical activity do not.”
- Physical activity protects bone health– resistance training, aerobic high impact weight bearing activity.
- I am going to do a second blog on this to show physical activity benefits for dementia and depression.
You get it. Exercise is good- no matter how old you are.
Our thoughts at Biohackr Health?
We believe in the importance of building muscle and being active.
- TEST your muscle level with an InBody scan
- IMPROVE MUSCLE with hormones, NAD, and creatine.
- MEASURE your cardiorespiratory fitness with VO2 max.
- MOVE. From housework to walks to catch up with friends to working out in the gym- you need both aerobic activity and muscle strengthening.
- EDUCATE. Keep reading the blogs. Know the studies keep proving the same key points over and over. Doing one thing (like increasing your physical activity) will help every other system in your body.
