A study published in the journal Nature Medicine reveals that the generations born after 1965 present a accelerated biological agingcreating a gap between their real age and the wear and tear on their body.
This phenomenon is a major avenue to explain the worrying rise in early-onset cancersincreasingly affecting those under 50 worldwide.
By diving into data from the UK Biobank, researchers from the Faculty of Medicine of theWashington University in Saint-Louis have highlighted an underlying trend, an invisible current that crosses generations.
Their analysis demonstrates that individuals born after 1965 display cellular and molecular aging markers much more pronounced than their elders at the same age.
The phenomenon is even accentuated for people born in the 90s. The objective was to find a common denominator to another alarming statistic: cancer diagnoses among those under 50 have jumped by almost 80% worldwide since 1990.
What is this gap between real age and the age of the body?
This phenomenon is based on the crucial distinction betweenchronological agethe one on your identity card, and thebiological age. The latter is the real indicator of the state of your body. It measures the actual wear and tear of your cells, tissues and organs.
The study shows that this gap is widening dramatically among new generations. Concretely, the bodies of people born between 1965 and 1974 are biologically older than those of their parents at the same stage of their life.
It’s a physiological debt which accumulates silently, and which could explain why diseases formerly associated with old age now strike adults in the prime of life.
What are the suspected causes of this accelerated aging?
The researchers advance a multifactorial hypothesislike a kind of toxic cocktail specific to our modern way of life. Biological age is a sponge that absorbs the cumulative impact of our environment and habits.
The blame lies on ultra-processed food, the explosion of sedentary lifestyle, obesity, alcohol and tobacco consumption, but also more insidious factors such as exposure to microplastics and other environmental pollutants.
Rather than isolating a single cause, the concept of biological aging allows us to obtain a global vision of the impact of these attacks on our body. This is the final score of decades of bad habits and exposures suffered, a measure which could become a major prevention tool to identify individuals most at risk well before the first symptoms.
What is the direct link with the increase in cancers among young people?
The study establishes a strong statistical correlation but without proving a direct cause and effect link. Individuals with the most marked signs of biological aging have an increased risk of developing solid tumors before age 55, including cancers of the lung, digestive tract and uterus.
The track is judged extremely serious by the scientific community to explain the surge in early cancers.
What makes this approach so relevant is that it shifts the focus from isolated cancer cells towards the general state of the organism. A biologically aged body is a more fertile ground for the development of pathologies.
Can we reverse this trend and slow down our internal clock?
While part of our biological clock is determined by genetics, a large part remains under our control. The good news is that the levers for action are known and documented.
Adopt a diet rich in fiber, fruits and vegetables, practice a regular physical activitymaintaining a healthy weight, ensuring quality sleep and quitting smoking are the pillars of healthier aging.
These results pave the way for a personalized preventive medicine. The future goal is to be able to “measure” this biological age routinely to tailor screening strategies and lifestyle advice.
It is an issue of overall health which forces us to collectively question the environment that we leave to future generations. Further research will be needed to refine these measurements and understand whether they are a symptom or a direct cause.
