“Health expectancy”: What the concept means and why it should begin in early adulthood

Living longer is no longer the only measure of progress, neurologist Conrado Estol said. The newer goal is “health expectancy”, the number of years people can live in good physical and cognitive condition.

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Over the past 10 years, the concept of life expectancy and health expectancy has begun to change.

In an exclusive interview with LA NACION, Estol said human life expectancy had doubled over the past century. The challenge now is to avoid what he called the “lost decade”, when people spend their final years with physical or cognitive limitations. He said concrete habits adopted from early adulthood can help change that trajectory.

Estol listed seven pillars for healthy longevity: controlling stress, maintaining social connections, sleeping properly, not smoking, moderating alcohol, eating a healthy diet and exercising. He also stressed the importance of having a sense of purpose and maintaining optimism or a positive outlook, which he said should not be dismissed as a cliché.

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The seven pillars are: controlling stress, maintaining your social ties, sleeping properly, zero cigarettes, moderating alcohol, healthy nutrition and exercise.

The neurologist warned against treating retirement as a period of passivity. He argued that people should remain active rather than assume that older age means withdrawing from life. “You don’t have to say, I’m 75, what am I going to do? I’ll watch soap operas all afternoon. No. You have to stay active,” he said. He also questioned the importance of chronological age, noting that some 30-year-olds might already describe themselves as old.

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You don’t have to say, I’m 75, what am I going to do? I’ll watch soap operas all afternoon. No. You have to stay active.

For cognitive health, Estol recommended consulting professionals early whenever people notice memory problems or have doubts. Healthy habits alone, he said, are not enough without professional support. He expects precision medicine to provide more individualized care over the decades. In his view, aging should be managed from around age 30, with attention to metabolic and cardiovascular health, rather than beginning at 75.

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You not only have to do your homework with the healthy lifestyle habits I mentioned, but you also need professional support. It is very difficult alone.