Effect of Modifiable Lifestyle Factors on Biological Aging

Abstract

Biological age is a concept that uses bio-physiological parameters to account for individual heterogeneity in the biological processes driving aging and aims to enhance the prediction of age-related clinical conditions compared to chronological age. Although engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors has been linked to a lower mortality risk and a reduced incidence of chronic diseases, it remains unclear to what extent these health benefits result from slowing the pace of the biological aging process. This short review summarized how modifiable lifestyle factors - including diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and the aggregate of multiple healthy behaviors - were associated with established estimates of biological age based on clinical or cellular/molecular markers, including Klemera-Doubal Method biological age, homeostatic dysregulation, phenotypic age, DNA methylation age, and telomere length. In brief, the available studies tend to show a consistent association of lifestyle factors with physiological measures of biological age, while findings regarding molecular-based metrics vary. The limited evidence highlights the need for further research in this field, particularly with a life-course approach.

Keywords: Healthy aging; age acceleration; biomarker of aging; epigenetic age; healthspan.

Figure 1.

Lifestyle factors showed an association with the deceleration of biological age suggested in prior studies