Bryan Johnson· Author
we approach it initially looking at the markers of physical fitness that do have the highest predictive value for longevity right we look at V2 Max we look at strength
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The evidence is convergent. Multiple independent sources reach the same conclusion, the underlying mechanism is well-characterized, and even the field's most cautious voices treat it as worth doing.
we approach it initially looking at the markers of physical fitness that do have the highest predictive value for longevity right we look at V2 Max we look at strength
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why because you can't fake those metrics and you can't cram for the test
and that's why strength is a very close second
Max muscle mass and strength stand out as the the the greatest predictors of lifespan which they do right they these stand out as far greater predictors of lifespan than cholesterol levels blood pressure blood blood glucose all of these things that clearly relate to how fast you're going to live or die um even smoking is a is a worse predictor of lifespan um than your Fitness level
and the reason I think is just it speaks to how potent exercise is as a tool to impact the cellular processes of Aging but it also speaks to the fact that you can't cram for the test when it comes to these tests right so if a person has a high V2 Max they have been doing a lot of exercising for a long time doesn't have to mean their whole life but they didn't just decide a you know a week ago
and I guess the other point I will make to bring it back is like why is it that V2 Max muscle mass and strength stand out as the the the greatest predictors of lifespan which they do right they these stand out as far greater predictors of lifespan than cholesterol levels blood pressure blood glucose all of these things that clearly relate to how fast you're going to live or die um even smoking is a is a worse predictor of lifespan um than your Fitness level
so again there's you can't prove anything in biology but boy the probability that having a high V2 Max High muscle mass and high muscle strength are going to increase the length of your life and improve the quality of your life that probability is so high that to act in disregard of that is irresponsible that's what I really mean by proven
when you look at the Hard data right when you look at the objective measures of things like V2 Max strength and muscle mass what do you find well you find a monotonically increasing benefit with more the higher your V2 Max the longer you live the more muscle mass you have the stronger you are the longer you live and by extension the better you live
so again there's you can't prove anything in biology but boy the probability that having a high V2 Max High muscle mass and high muscle strength are going to increase the length of your life and improve the quality of your life that probability is so high that to act in disregard of that is irresponsible that's what I really mean by proven
like why is it that V2 Max muscle mass and strength stand out as the the greatest predictors of lifespan which they do right they these stand out as far greater predictors of lifespan than cholesterol levels blood pressure blood glucose all of these things that clearly relate to how fast you're going to live or die um even smoking is a is a worse predictor of lifespan um than your Fitness level
the two metrics that are most significantly associated with longevity uh so if we were to stack up every possible known risk factor smoking type 2 diabetes high blood pressure coronary artery disease endstage kidney disease whatever and we were to talk about how much of a hazard ratio do these bring to to you in terms of all cause mortality they're they're quite big you know that hypertension is about a 20% uh type 2 diabetes is about a 30% increase in mortality smoking is 50% uh increase being weak relative to being strong is about 250% having a very low V2 Max in the bottom 25% of the population versus being in the top 2 and a half% of the population is about 400% wow so when you line everything up the two things that stand out the most are incredible cardiorespiratory Fitness as measured by V2 Max and strength
the stats I gave earlier in this discussion which were how uh High VO2 max and high strength were the two biggest predictors of longevity and that's true by a country mile
sometimes the output is what matters more how strong you are how high your V2 Max is those tend to be more predictive
What do you make of the data that I talk about all the time, which look at the hazard ratios for mortality based on high V2 max and high muscle mass and high strength and how those three things stand out so far above anything else.
Um meaning like when you look at hazard ratios associated with smoking, type 2 diabetes, even cancer um they are not as lethal as being incredibly weak, incredibly low in muscle mass and incredibly low in fitness.
So when you line everything up, the two things that stand out the most are incredible cardiorespiratory fitness as measured by V2 max and strength.
like your strength, your lean mass, your activity levels, enormous predictors of how long you will live to the order of hundreds of percentage points of magnitude when it comes to V2 max, grip strength, overall strength.
Muscle strength is arguably one of the most important predictors of healthspan and longevity—far more than muscle mass alone.