The most recent available data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Americans are living longer, but experts said healthy aging still comes down to a few basic habits.
In a new report from U.S. News and World Report, 53 health experts were surveyed to better understand how Americans can age in a healthy way. In that survey, many said physical activity, having a healthy diet and getting quality sleep were among some of the best daily practices they prioritize for healthy aging.
“It’s these time-tested daily habits of eating healthy and moving your body that actually make a meaningful impact on how long and how well you live out your years,” Shanley Chien, senior editor of health at U.S. News and World Report, said.
But being around other people matters, too.
“Nearly 60% of our experts named social isolation as the most underappreciated, underacknowledged accelerator of biological aging,” Chien said. “Even though we think of isolation as a major mental health concern, it’s really linked to a lot of physical health effects as well.”
Chien said the “longevity market is booming” because people are trying to find “innovative ways to optimize their biology and extend their health span.”
“Everywhere you look, people are chasing expensive biohacks, wearable gadgets, peptides and even artificial intelligence tools that are promising to reverse aging,” she said.
In the survey, health experts were asked to predict what the next major trend in healthy aging would be, and 17% said it would be GLP-1 medications.
“In fact, 52% of our experts agreed that the cardiovascular perks of these medications outweigh potential long-term risks. However, 76% warned that accelerated muscle loss is a major threat if people aren’t proactive about it,” Chien said.
She added that GLP-1 users are also burning muscle mass but can combat that with regular strength training and eating protein, which will help maintain mobility and independence while aging.
When the health experts were asked to rank the best dietary supplement, almost 35% agreed that a simple multivitamin was the best thing to consume.
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“When we eat healthy, we typically get all the nutritional needs that we get from our food. But as we age, as we develop certain medical conditions or we start taking certain medications, it can be really easy to develop these basic nutritional gaps,” Chien said. “That’s why our multivitamin is kind of seen as our insurance, general insurance policy for nutritional deficiencies.”
Chien said people who are using smart watches to track their fitness and gauge and monitor things should also measure grip strength and VO2 max.
“Grip strength is a major indicator of your functional power for daily tasks like carrying groceries or standing up easily or even catching yourself if you were to fall,” Chien said. “Those are very, very critical as you age so that you don’t develop any other health issues and you don’t come into any acute accidents as well.”
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