The Secret of "People Who Age Only 0.4 Years in One Year" — Learning and Habits Can Alter the "Pace of Aging"

"There are 'fast agers' and 'slow agers'"—The Measure of "Pace of Aging"

People do not age at the same speed even if they are the same age. This intuition has been quantified using epidemiology and biomarkers, leading to the concept of "Pace of Aging." Recent articles have highlighted a shocking contrast: some people age only 0.4 years in one year, while others age 2 to 3 years in the same period. Particularly, the suggestion that "those who continue to learn age more slowly" has garnered attention. This article breaks down the key points along with scientific papers and organizes social media reactions to bring the question of "how to slow down your pace of aging" to a practical level. Livedoor News

Scientific Evidence: New Zealand's Dunedin Study and "0.4–2.4 years/year"

The most famous study on the pace of aging is New Zealand's "Dunedin Study," which tracked a cohort of 1,000 people for nearly 20 years. It measured 19 types of biomarkers (metabolic, circulatory, respiratory, immune, renal, periodontal, etc.) at ages 26, 32, 38, and 45, and calculated the "speed of biological aging" as an annual rate by summing the "annual change amount." The study reported that even at the same age of 45, the slowest agers experienced "0.4 years of physiological change per year," while the fastest agers experienced "2.4 years per year." Those with a faster pace of aging showed stronger signs of brain aging and were more likely to experience declines in cognitive function, gait, and sensorimotor abilities. This provides strong evidence that "age = chronological age" does not fully capture health risks. dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz

"Do Learners Age More Slowly?"—The Relationship Between Education and Pace of Aging

The article highlighted "length of education" as one of the factors strongly related to the pace of aging. People with longer educational backgrounds or more study hours tend to have higher health literacy and find it easier to improve their lifestyle habits. Differences in income, occupation, and living environment (so-called social determinants) may also reduce chronic stress and environmental exposure. Of course, it's not as simple as "having an education keeps you young," but the idea that cognitive reserve and lifelong learning can indirectly affect the pace of aging is plausible. In fact, Belsky and others leading the pace of aging research have shown that even after statistically adjusting for educational and socioeconomic factors, individual differences in the pace of aging are linked to health outcomes. Livedoor News

New Technology as a "Speedometer": Estimating "Pace of Aging" with a Single Blood Test

However, accurately measuring the pace of aging traditionally requires repeated measurements over many years. This led to the development of indicators that estimate the pace of aging from DNA methylation in blood (DunedinPoAm / DunedinPACE). This advancement allows for the evaluation of "changes in speed" over relatively short periods in clinical research and intervention trials. Furthermore, the CALERIE randomized trial suggested that the pace of aging estimated by this blood test could improve with intervention. eLife publichealth.columbia.edu

What is Being Discussed on Social Media (Summary)

• Positive View: "Motivated to relearn," "Thinking of reading and studying for qualifications as anti-aging makes it easier to continue"—supportive voices in the context of self-improvement in response to shares via Modern Business official posts. X (formerly Twitter)

• Skeptical View: "Oversimplifying the link between education and lifespan," "Can't ignore disparities in educational opportunities"—comments cautioning against misinterpreting causality due to the strength of the article's headline. Livedoor News

• Practical View: "Focus on sleep, exercise, and quitting smoking before brain training," "Controlling blood pressure and blood sugar is paramount"—a calm reminder that while learning is important, basic lifestyle habits come first. KenKatsu Notebook

• Spread of Information: Distributed through fragments quoted on Facebook's "Money Modern" page and individual accounts on X. Also picked up on Hatena Bookmark, sparking active discussions due to the strong headlines. Facebook

So, How Can You Slow Down Your "Pace of Aging"?

Based on both scientific evidence and feasibility, the following five points are the "royal road."

1. Exercise: Combine endurance (aerobic) and strength training. It helps prevent deterioration of maximum oxygen uptake and metabolic systems, with ripple effects on multiple biomarkers. dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz

2. Sleep: Around 7 hours of stable sleep, consistent bedtime and wake-up times. It serves as the "foundation" for brain and metabolic recovery. dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz

3. Quit Smoking & Moderate Alcohol: Directly linked to the speed of deterioration in inflammation, vascular, and immune systems. Start by completely quitting smoking. dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz

4. Manage Weight, Blood Pressure, and Blood Sugar: Monitor changes that progress annually (HbA1c, blood pressure, lipids, etc.) and work alongside medical care. dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz

5. Lifelong Learning (Smartly Stressing the Brain): Qualifications, languages, musical instruments, programming, book clubs, etc. Whether learning directly lowers "speed" depends on the person and conditions, but indirect effects through health behaviors and cognitive reserve can be expected. Livedoor News

Caution: The "Strength" of Headlines and the Distance from Science

"Learners Don't Age" is appealing, but correlation and causation are different. Education is intertwined with "upstream factors (income, work environment, medical access, living environment, etc.)." Researchers also view the pace of aging as an individual difference that remains even after adjusting for socioeconomic background. Rather than being swayed by headlines, the realistic prescription is to optimize "environment, habits, and learning" through accumulation. dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz

Conclusion: Your "Future Biological Age" Can Be Changed Starting Today

The pace of aging is not a completely fixed fate. Add lifelong learning to the "quietly effective" pillars of exercise, sleep, quitting smoking, and metabolic management. By properly recording measurable indicators (blood pressure, blood sugar, lipids, body composition) and developing a habit of observing annual changes, you can certainly slow down your "body clock." Science has come this far, and public opinion as shown on social media largely agrees on the basics that need to be done. dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz

※Some Sources:

• Summary of a trending article distributed by Modern Business (via Livedoor, Hatena Bookmark overview).Livedoor News

• Dunedin Study (Nature Aging paper, 0.4–2.4 years/year).dunedinstudy.otago.ac.nz

• Blood-based Pace of Aging Indicators (DunedinPoAm / DunedinPACE) and CALERIE Trial.eLife+1

• Examples of Social Media Spread (Official X posts, individual posts, FB pages).X (formerly Twitter)