Age is the single greatest risk factor we have, far greater than lifestyle alone. But what if aging isn't simply something we have to accept? Here, Cue Scientific Advisor Morten Scheibye-Knudsen shares the research he has devoted his life to: why we grow old, and what we can actually do about it.
Age weighs heavier than you think
If you smoke, drink alcohol, eat poorly, don't exercise, and generally treat yourself badly, your risk of cancer rises by around 80 percent. That sounds dramatic, but put it in perspective: going from age 10 to age 60 raises your cancer risk by roughly 3,500 percent.
In other words, age itself is the most decisive factor. And that's precisely why aging biology is one of the most compelling fields there is when it comes to health.
Why do we grow old?
Morten Scheibye-Knudsen is a physician, associate professor, and researcher into why we age and what we can do about it. His interest in the field began when his grandparents became ill, his grandfather with Parkinson's and his grandmother with Alzheimer's, and as a teenager he thought there had to be something that could be done about it.
The most widely held theory today is that aging is the consequence of an accumulation of damage over time. That's damage to our proteins, fats, and DNA. Among other things, we accumulate what are called senescent cells. Morten half-jokingly calls them grumpy old men: cells that sit in the tissue, have lost their function, and make the environment around them a little sour.
From around the age of 40, our physiology begins to decline on almost every parameter. But the good news is that there's actually something we can do about it.
Aging can be influenced
The research shows we can make a real difference. Studies have been published showing that some of the age-related decline in our mitochondria, the cells' energy factories, can be reduced through exercise, for example.
One good marker of the body's energy level is VO2 max, meaning the maximum amount of oxygen you can burn. It says something about how our entire physiology is actually functioning.
Measure before you change anything
One of the most important things you can do is track how an intervention actually works for you specifically. That requires several measurements over time.
You measure before you begin, along the way, and afterward, so you can see whether what you're doing is affecting you in the right direction. Without measurements, you're working blind.
A "natural" argument that doesn't hold
What happens with age is, in principle, natural. But so is cancer, really, and there we've fortunately developed medicines and methods that can treat it.
The argument that something is natural and therefore shouldn't be touched doesn't hold up ethically. We should investigate whether we can influence aging in humans, because the potential is enormous: that all of us can be healthier for longer.
