It’s no secret that regular exercise and a good diet help keep you healthy and fit. Specifically, diet and exercise can reduce your risk for coronary heart disease by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. However, does a healthy and active lifestyle also keep you young by influencing how fast you age? A recent study led by Dr. Steve Horvath sheds light on how your lifestyle affects your biological age¹.
Scientists looked at the lifestyles of over 4,000 people of various ethnic backgrounds and measured their biological age using Horvath’s Epigenetic Clock. They found that poor health conditions such as high BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, and blood glucose levels were associated with accelerated aging! Conversely, regular exercise and a healthy diet rich in fish, fruits, and vegetables, was associated with a younger biological age. In other words, yes – healthy lifestyle choices may indeed keep you young! The study also highlights how the epigenetic clock can be used to measure how your lifestyle changes are impacting your age.