A new study suggests that while the onset of aging may be delayed, the biological rate at which humans age remains constant across generations.
Researcher Silvio Patricio, from the University of Southern Denmark, analyzed mortality data from four European countries and confirmed a long-standing theory first proposed by James W. Vaupel.
The study, posted on the preprint server aXiv, revisited Benjamin Gompertz’s 19th-century mortality model and found that variations in aging rates are not biological, but rather the result of “historical shocks,” such as global conflicts or pandemics.
“Once we filter out non-senescent mortality and account for the accumulation of shared period effects, [the rate of aging] becomes strikingly consistent,” Patricio wrote.
Despite the booming anti-aging industry, the research reinforces that while healthy habits may extend life, they do not alter the fundamental pace of aging. As Patricio concluded, “The variation that remains is not biological drift, but the footprint of history.”