"Crispy young man" and "young people's physical examination report", whether it is on the Internet or in real life, many people can't help but sigh "I feel that the body of young people is not as good as that of the older generation".
Sentiments from netizens
This is really not a delusion. The latest research confirms this feeling: young people may be aging at an accelerated rate......
The study found that young people are aging at an accelerated rate
On April 7, a study released at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting showed that young people may be aging faster, and accelerated aging is associated with an increased risk of cancer.
People born in 1965 or later have a 17% higher risk of accelerated aging than those born between 1950 and 1954.
Worryingly, for every unit increase in the acceleration of aging, the risk of early-onset lung cancer increases by 42%, the risk of early-onset gastrointestinal cancer by 22%, and the risk of early-onset uterine cancer by 36%.
The study looked at the medical records of more than 140,000 participants, aged 37-54 years, and calculated their biological age using nine blood markers. Individuals whose biological age is higher than their chronological age are defined as accelerated aging.
"Unlike chronological age, biological age can be influenced by factors such as diet, physical activity, mental health, and environmental stressors. "A growing body of evidence suggests that younger generations may age faster than expected, possibly due to early exposure to various risk factors and environmental pollution," the researchers said. ”①②
Photo by Zhiming
9 inconspicuous little things that are accelerating the aging of the body
Biological age is influenced by many factors such as diet, exercise, psychology and environment. These little things in life are the culprits of accelerated aging.
1. Stay up late to sleep
Staying up late often can easily cause endocrine disorders, decreased immunity, poor spirit, and rough skin, and often suffer from colds, gastrointestinal infections, allergies and other diseases, which make people age. ③
2. Irregular sleep
A 2023 study published in the journal Sleep Health said that maintaining a stable sleep routine can help slow down the biological aging process. Compared with people with stable sleep habits, people with large deviations in sleep onset time and large differences in sleep on weekdays and weekends aged 9 months earlier. ④
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3. Sedentary lifestyle
Zhong Weihong, a traditional Chinese medicine physician director of the Department of Dermatology at Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Guangdong Province, said in an article in Health Times in 2016 that sedentary life is also one of the causes of aging. Moderate exercise can accelerate blood circulation in the skin, promote metabolism, reduce calcium loss in the body, keep the body light and straight, and maintain a healthy body. ⑤
Xu Shunlin, chief physician of the Department of Cardiology of Peking University Third Hospital, also said in an article in the Health Times that proper movement can ensure that the heart and lung function are not reduced, the blood vessels are unblocked, the lungs can inhale sufficient oxygen, and the heart has sufficient strength to send oxygen through the blood vessels to the whole body to meet the needs of the body. ⑥
4. Smoking and drinking
The nicotine in cigarettes has a damaging effect on the collagen of the skin and the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to the skin cells, causing aging. (7) Drinking alcohol also accelerates aging. He Li, a researcher at the Institute of Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an article in Health Times in 2018 that when the liver struggles to process toxins in alcohol, it produces more free radicals than the antioxidants ingested by the human body can handle, causing oxidative stress and an important factor in aging. ⑧
5. Too much pressure
A 2023 study published in Cell Metabolism shows that people do age under severe stress. But the good news is that stress-induced aging can be reversed once an individual has recovered from severe stress. ⑨
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6. Poor diet
Huang Xiangrong, chief physician of the Department of Neurology of Hangzhou Red Cross Hospital in Zhejiang Province, said in an interview with Qianjiang Evening News that the more energy the human body consumes, the more free radicals are produced, and the faster the degree of aging of the human body. ⑩
7. The taste is too strong
In your daily diet, try to avoid strong flavors such as high salt, oil, and sugar, which are all important reasons for accelerating aging.
8. Insufficient drinking water
A 2023 study published in The Lancet found that inadequate water intake is a risk factor for accelerated aging and an increased risk of chronic disease and death. Among them, the investigators used the serum sodium level as the criterion of water adequacy, and the lower the water intake, the higher the index. ⑪
9. Super heavy fertilizer
Many studies have linked obesity to accelerated aging, in part because obesity causes DNA damage. Studies have shown that this combination of sarcopenia and increased body fat increases the risk of cognitive impairment, which is another accelerator of aging.
Source: Health Times WeChat public account (ID: jksb2013)
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