Longevity In the past 20 years, although the average life span of people has increased to 73.4 years, the average health span has only been 63.7 years. Although we cannot avoid aging, we can adjust our lifestyle to slow down the deterioration of cellular aging.

The Path to Longevity It has been the desire of human beings for many generations. Human life expectancy has increased over the past 20 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the number of centenarians has nearly tripled from 180,000 in 2001 to 593,000 in 2021. The life expectancy of people worldwide increased by 6.6 years from 66.8 years in 2000 to 73.4 years in 2019.

Meanwhile,Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE) It also increased from 58.3 years in 2000 to 63.7 years in 2019. It did not keep up with the increase in life expectancy (6.6 years). In other words, This is due to the declining mortality rate, rather than the fact that people are living healthy lives.

Aging It is caused by the deterioration of the body and its ability to restore and repair itself, which is inevitable for all humans, as well as death, so the quality of life, especially at the end of life, is extremely important.

Lifespan It refers to the period of time that people, animals, or things exist or live, or simply put, the age according to the ID card, and the term health span refers to the period of complete health without disability or disease.

Even all living things cannot avoid aging. However, people's bodies deteriorate unequally fast. It depends on three main factors: genetics, environment, and lifestyle. Therefore, Lifestyle Medicine (Lifestyle Medicine) with scientific evidence has proven to be effective in preventing Let's improve people's quality of life, starting with solving the root cause of the problem.

There are two types of human age, one is chronological age, which is calculated according to the date of birth, increasing with the passing of time, and the other is biological age, which is the age of cells in the body. Changes depend on various factors, especially lifestyle habits. If we are people who always take care of our physical health, we will not be able to do so. It would not be difficult to know the age according to the calendar, but the age of the body is not the same as the age on the ID card. It is necessary to dig deeper down to the chromosomal level.

Today, scientific advances are being used to optimize health care and improve well-being. This provides more accurate and specific information. It allows people to know their risk of developing the disease in advance. It is useful for prevention and increases the efficiency of maintenance. In this article, the doctor would like to give two examples of in-depth health check-ups, if anyone can do the test, it will help us understand our body better or know the actual age of our health (Biological Age).

• The first method is Telomere length test The part at the end of the chromosome. It acts similarly to the plastic sleeve located at the end of the laces. Prevent the laces from becoming frayed or damaged prematurely. Telomeres will shrink more and more every year, but sooner or later it depends on how you live. If the telomeres are long, it shows that the body age is not much, but if the telomeres are short, it means that the body age is very old, and it may be easier to get sick.
• The second method is Epigenetics To determine which factors and behaviors influence gene expression. This makes it known the risk of various diseases because of the environment. Diet, exercise, stress levels, sleep It can stimulate or inhibit gene expression. For example, a high-fat diet can reduce the activity of the PPARγ gene involved in mitochondrial function in cells. As a result, the body's metabolism decreases. Epigenetic changes are reversible because they do not alter the DNA sequence. The test allows us to choose a healthier lifestyle plan.

Therefore, some people are actually 60 years old, but after checking, the age of the body is the same as that of a 50-year-old person, which shows that this person has taken care of his physical and mental health very well. Therefore, the results of the health examination are 10 years younger than their actual age.

Health is more than physical happiness, but also mental well-being: The World Health Organization has defined the meaning of the word health as physical, mental, and social well-being. Once we know the age of the body that is physically strong. Don't forget to take care of your mental health. According to the World Happiness Report 2024, Finland continues to be the happiest country in the world for the seventh consecutive year, with Thailand ranked 58th, down from 34th place about 10 years ago. In 2015, it was 2.3 million. In 2021

Stress is like a silent executioner, which is difficult to observe with the naked eye but begins to manifest when the person is chronically stressed, such as being sick frequently. Stress can be detected by cortisol, which is a stress hormone, and DHEA, which is an anti-stress hormone or happiness hormone, to see the balance between the two hormones. Research shows that telomere length in women who are regularly stressed It is up to 10 years shorter than the non-stress group.

Finally, the doctor would like to bring 5 tips for good health to live younger than our actual age

1. Healthy diet
2. Exercise for 30 minutes at a time, 5 days a week.
3. Get enough sleep, at least 8-9 hours.
4. Avoid hazardous substances.
5. Always take good care of your mental health.

References

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