Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Roundtable.
You're listening to Roundtable with myself Hyyeong.
I'm joined by Yoo Shoo and Steve Hatherly in the studio.
So scientists just dropped a bombshell.
We age in two big bursts, one at 44 and another at 60.
How does that change the way we think about getting older, or does it at all?
And we share with you what's brought us sheer delight this week.
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Now let's switch it up and explore another intriguing topic.
We all know our bodies change as we age, but what if those changes aren't as gradual as we thought?
New research from Stanford University reveals that human aging occurs in two significant bursts, first around the age of 44 and then again at 60.
This challenges the long -held belief that aging is a slow, steady process.
So Steve, what is this new research and how has it reached such conclusions?
Well, the first thing I want to say about this topic is for longtime listeners of Roundtable, they would know that, you know, we divide up our topics and who's gonna present which topics before the show.
And Yushin said to me before the show, hey Steve, I think you should do the aging topic.
So I'm just gonna try to not die of old age before the show ends and all.
Don't get me wrong.
I am introducing the first one and then maybe you can get the second one.
That shovel will only dig the hole deeper my friend.
This is from Stanford Medicine, this new study and it has revealed that many of the body's molecules and microorganisms starkly rise or fall in number at two specific ages.
So young, the ones that you mentioned before, 44 years old and 60 years old.
Alright, so it's gonna get a little bit sciency here for the next minute or two but if you don't know all the words don't worry about it, we'll talk you through it.
The researchers drew the conclusion that they came to after looking at thousands of molecules in the body.
They looked at RNA proteins, metabolites and their microbiomes.
That's the collection of bacteria and viruses and fungi that live on our bodies and inside our bodies.
So they looked at people from 25 years old to 75 years old and if you're interested in looking this up you can find it in the journal Nature Aging.
So specifically they measured more than 11 ,000 molecules in the adult body over time and it revealed that 81 % of what they studied undergo dramatic changes at 44 years old and 60 years old.
Hmm. Yeah, it's kind of an interesting study.
Now there's a lot to kind of question about this study and we'll get to that in just a sec but they're looking at biological age which refers to the changes that take place in your body over a lifetime as opposed to maybe what we would call chronological age.
That's year by year by year and according to this the human body does not age at a constant rate throughout adulthood or throughout our lives.
Instead it accelerates dramatically around 44 and 60 years old.
I thought that was kind of a fascinating finding.
Which means, so I was thinking about this chronological age which means maybe I am 30 years old but my body or biological age is not 30.
It could be 20 or 50.
Yeah exactly depending on how you live I suppose.
That could have a big influence on it.
The reason they did this study they were looking at things that come along in our lives as we tend to get older.
Diseases like Alzheimer's and also cardiovascular conditions, that stuff related to your heart.
Those are diseases that typically come along when you get a little bit older in life.
Not always but typically yes and that's why they decided to do this study because they noted that the risk of developing these conditions was pretty sharp.
These conditions, cardiovascular and Alzheimer's, it comes along very quickly and that's why it inspired them to do this study.
Well so when we're getting 44 exactly the time that my birthday just passed and then there is a higher risk of getting maybe Alzheimer or cardiovascular disease.
No, don't take it like that.
It doesn't mean if you're 43 years old and your birthday is tomorrow that you're gonna have heart troubles.
It doesn't mean that if you're 59 years old and your birthday is in a week you're suddenly gonna get Alzheimer's disease.
That is not what this means at all.
I'll tell you some specifics about what they found.
For people in their 40s, molecular changes were seen in a number of molecules related to alcohol and caffeine and fat metabolization, also cardiovascular disease and also skin and muscle as well.
The metabolization of alcohol and caffeine for example, metabolization if you're not familiar with that term.
That's the chemical process inside your body that changes food for example into energy or fat or waste products and at 44 and 60 what they found was that people couldn't metabolize alcohol as well as they could before.
At 44 and 60 they couldn't metabolize caffeine as good or as well as they could before.
And according to the study do they know why all of this is happening?
Yeah well there's the thing we have to question about this right?
No, they don't exactly know the reasons for this.
They identified four different aegyptypes in this study which by the way had 108 participants and they looked at kidney and liver and metabolism and the immune systems at the age of different people but they couldn't exactly come up with a particular reason as to why this was happening.
There's a lot of links to cardiovascular health but those are only correlative.
They point to a lot of potential reasons why they come but they haven't been able to answer this question.
You know there's a lot of questions with this study.
They only looked at people from 25 to 75.
That's why I was thinking that participants were all from California.
They were all from California and that's a great point because Stanford by the way is in California.
California is a place where people tend to live pretty healthily so choosing people from California that might have an impact on this study as well.
And also the you know they looked at the changes in the blood but the question is do the changes that they saw in the blood does it actually drive disease or is that a byproduct of the aging process?
They don't know the answer to this yet and even the scientists have said that there's a lot there almost like there's more questions than there are answers through this study.
You know of course we can see the samples are just 108 people and as they're all from California which may not represent the global population but I think at least it is offering a new perspective on understanding the biological basis of aging.
I mean human aging and could contribute to developing more effective products and treatments to slow down or reverse age related changes or diseases that we mentioned before.
Anyway we were thinking about okay why at the age of 44 or 60 is a sharp cliff that we may face when we're facing these immune system or caffeine related functions or something like that.
I think that is just aging you know aging will make human or make creatures become old and bad at solving all of these problems isn't it?
Yep and you're right and Jia Tao Shin who is a former Stanford Medicine postdoctoral scholar and the first author of this study even Jia Tao said that more research is needed to explore the answers to these questions but they also said the researchers that regardless of causation they do recommend paying
particular attention to your health when you're in your early to mid 40s and your early 60s as well and they talk about things like increasing exercise and decreasing alcohol consumption to just live a healthier life in general but I mean the whole anti -aging industry is absolutely booming isn't it?
Oh absolutely and it's really interesting that even with this study which originally appeared in English conducted by Stanford University but it spread I wouldn't go as far as saying like wildfire but like a small fire on Chinese social media as well and also the headline often goes and I suppose it's
going to be today's headline for our podcast title as well but it really just you know sort of highlights 44 and 60 you know these BAM BAM and also anti -aging and I think this is the kind of topic that gets the attention of anyone across the world and it seems this is a topic that will never age.
Good one. Cut that clip for our socials, that's perfect.
It's great and the substantial size and rapid growth of the global anti -aging industry corresponds to this interest and need of people to want to stay younger and what do you see as maybe the interesting facts about the size of the market as well as you know just all these services that address age
-related concerns? Yeah there's a huge massive global anti -aging market they value it at about 63 billion US dollars that was a statistic or a number from 2022 they predict that that will reach 106 .7 billion dollars by 2030.
I love that when they put out the predictions and they put 0 .4, 0 .7 it's a very very specific prediction isn't it?
Anyway that's a that's a pretty significant growth over the next six to seven years.
Cosmetics is an absolute money grab for for anti -aging companies right and that this has been around in gosh Western culture I can say for sure but probably in Chinese culture probably in every culture around the world this kind of pushing us to look younger feel younger right it's just a non -stop thing.
I was thinking even the words anti -aging it sounds like you are battling some villains.
It sounds like you're doing something wrong yeah by getting older.
But it is just a natural phenomenon that everybody will get and when we're talking about this you know actually as we talked about it it is a evergreen topic that people have how to end high age but why are we so scared of getting old that is something we may need to think about because I was thinking
you know it can be the fear of change or to the unknown if I feel that even for a young person just by discovering a new forehead or wrinkle can cause a moment of anxiety.
Do men feel that too?
Probably even you know are there any particular numbers here in China that people are afraid of in terms of aging in Canada and America going from 29 to 30 oh dear oh that's a that's the end of your life or 39 to 40 but I think after 40 I don't know if there's any fear of 49 to 50 or 59 to 60 but those
are two big ones that people stress about 29 to 30 and 39 to 40 is that is that the same here in China?
I think so we actually have that kind of word to illustrating that age I mean 30 there is a word called Arli Junya which is saying that you are about to be knowing things and understand things and you should not be confused about things that is the age that you will be like that and that is the age
of 30. That is the opposite.
My interpretation is exactly opposite to that.
Actually Arli Junya to me is like the key here is to lead so that is to achieve your career so yeah or have a family or something so you're supposed to like you you have established the basics in your life as a grown -up adult and but that's according to ancient Chinese sayings and back then people die
sorry people don't live that long unlike now with our life expectancy easily going above 70 or 80 years old but I also just like to share one thing as a woman it's a tough world out there especially when it comes to those ages that you just mentioned Steve about 29 and turning 30 it's almost like a ticking
time bomb is constantly in your head especially if you are not married if you have not given baby to give them birth to your first baby and especially if you sit down at night and feel like what have I achieved in my career or in my life and it really bogs you down I mean this is this is probably the opportune
time just to ask you guys you know like midlife crisis quarter life crisis are tough enough and now we're aging fast at 44 and 60 according to one study and you don't have to believe that but I'm just so over feeling like my life is dictated by these age milestones how can I reclaim my life and live
on by my own terms or is this completely a pipe dream you should I'm gonna let you answer that baby on the TV he's not thinking about these things but at least I think I can explain it from the angle of what we just talked about of course I thought like you young are Legion young or 30 and established
means that you need to establish something at the age of 30 but after I looked into maybe the meaning of this whole sentence century early which means 30 and established 40 and not confused so this means that by the age of 30 a person is expected to have developed their own discernment and judgment
abilities gaining unique insights through accumulated life experience and by the age of 40 when expected to have less confusion about things so in this way I think it is also telling you that maybe of course we're facing aging and it will make your body and appearance grow older but our inner strength
may also grow alongside it which means you're seeing the world more yours you're getting to more scenarios and getting knowledge from this world and sure okay I tried let me try you know kudos for trying okay how about this then we always look to society as a guide to let us know what we're supposed
to be doing and where we're supposed to be doing it and how we're supposed to be doing it and social media has only exacerbated that problem I'll call it so much as a problem stop thinking about what other people are doing number one stop thinking about number two what you're supposed to be doing here's
my answer whatever you're doing now is probably what you are supposed to be doing don't think about your life in stages like 30 40 50 60 70 that's an easy thing to do just think about where you are in your path in your journey as a human being on this planet if you're not happy with what you're doing
make some adjustments if you're not happy with what you're studying make some adjustments if you can with your work make some adjustments if you can but it's your path it's your journey it's your life and no one has control over it but you okay that could easily be a motivational Monday clip we could just
like copy and paste it for next Monday I'm done already yeah I think it is really useful to view age not as a limitation but as a chance to grow learn and evolve approach each stage of life with curiosity creativity and a willingness to expand our perspectives towards life because it's so easy to be
boxed in and sort of in a really negative way affected on sorry to interrupt but oftentimes we do that to ourselves right oftentimes we do that to ourselves nobody's doing that to us different different for every person but I'm saying just sometimes we put that we put ourselves in our own box and it's
because of you know the societal rules or or whatnot like you both have mentioned and also this culture of glorification of being young and then you see that on social media you see that magazine covers television you name it yeah and and also talking about cosmetic trends years ago or at least for my
mom's generation I remember when she was hitting the big 4 -0 like she was starting to visit the cosmetic aisle which sells anti -aging products and now for my generation when you hit like 25 or maybe 28 women are being targeted in marketing true law like early aging products teenagers are being targeted
yeah that's a topic that we discussed in a previous show so before we move on to a happier place guys do you have maybe a couple of final words to say to our audience regarding this aging topic yes I can feel I know a lot of us are gonna be looking at the numbers and feeling oh this sucks it doesn't
suck to get older first of all you know if you consider the alternative one of my old co -workers he was about 30 years older than I was and every time his birthday came around he would celebrate it wildly and he would always say I love getting older because if you consider the alternative right and he
wasn't he wasn't wrong so don't pay too much attention to 40 in this study 44 and 60 is not meant to make you feel depressed about turning 44 or turning 60 years old good it's just a little reminder that you live healthily maybe certain things happen in your body at that particular time and maybe you
have to make adjustments but again you know this study is from Stanford we're gonna trust Stanford results but even the researchers said we have a lot more questions that need to be answered here or I can provide a perspective from viewing these kind of things I I'm maybe it can be extended to people's
fear of aging or even to the end of your life I I recently read about the theory of Zhuangzi which is the ancient Chinese philosopher he viewed death as an inevitable inevitable part of life cycle and human life transitions from nothing to existence and to nothing again so maybe it's just like a cycle
and although this may sound very very philosophical to a lot of people and it might offer some insight into how we approach death or even just aging right and remember you are more than a number by taking intentional steps to live on your own terms and redefine what it means to age well we can reclaim
a sense of purpose and agency and it might not always be easy but it's a worthy pursuit for a life fully lived coming up welcome to the happiest quarter on the airwaves round tables happy place delivery delivery delivery what is it happiness from round table well you're listening to round tables happy
place with myself a young and I'm joined by Steve Hatherley and you sure you sure you have something really happy to share oh yeah so my happy place is at the National Zoology Zoological Museum of China actually I've visited this museum for a fascinating collaboration they had with Pokemon actually
they showcased various different types of Pokemon from different categories along with detailed encyclopedic information about real -world animals and that is why I like it or love enemy they are offering both science knowledge and Pokemon knowledge so here is the thing that I would like to ask you ready
for some kind of sciency quiz around Pokemon and natural world so yes did you know that some Pokemon of course you don't know that there is there are animals that change their first according to temperatures okay so what's your question I don't hear a question yes so this is a phenomenon that happened
to Pokemon so they change their color of their fur according to temperature or the seasons and there are some animals real animals yeah that changed their fur color according to temperature okay I thought Pokemon only changed color to the season of the year as in oh the fifth season just came out and they
all turned blue well they didn't and I didn't even know Pokemon head fur they do but anyway what we're trying to say is Siamese cats you know that type of cat yeah they change their color of their fur from white to black when the temperature turns cold oh really yes so that is the knowledge that I get
from this little you know museum or okay you don't have to defend your trip there I didn't defend for it for anything because I love Pokemon from even from my childhood and I think that is also the reason why I went to this museum for this a little bit exhibition because it might sound like a science
lesson for kids I did see some parents actually going there with their children and I'm sure it's also because the these adults childhoods were surrounded by Pokemon maybe like me I saw a dad passionately introduced what that Pokemon is that could be you when you become a dad exactly yeah yes so I was thinking
when I was a kid I always wished to have my own Pokemon so when I stepped into that life -sized Pokemon filled artificial natural environment that's a huge sentence sorry but I really felt like a childhood dream had come true even though they were just you know they didn't move like that but I step into
that world feel well I'm surrounded by Pokemons and their life size and maybe if they're real there will be like that like roaring to me but anyway overall the whole event was both I think educational and entertaining so I really recommend anybody who is interested in Pokemon or animals to visit this National
Zoological Museum it's a really cool an unexpected collaboration to never expect those two things to go together I think it is unexpected but expected because they have so many things in common I mean from the natural world I mean the animals and the Pokemons because a lot of these animals and their
characteristics are inspired by real -life animals yeah exactly any stuff on dinosaurs there no no you know when you shouldn't was telling me just giving me a sort of like a little preview of what he's gonna say about his happy place he got me so confused and I'm sorry I sort of accidentally was sort
of a mood kill for him in the sense that after he went on for like five minutes and I was like so is this a museum for Pokemon or is I completely missed the point so actually this museum has a ton of animal taxidermy taxidermy don't move y 'all been there so the so it was like the main dish is the education of animals
and the side garnish or okay um super sized garnish is Pokemon but for you should well the garnish is bigger than the actual okay no he didn't say that but I'm so happy that is your happy place and thank you for bringing joy and laughter to this week's around and just before we finish up could you bring
me some warm tea and some applesauce it's time for my afternoon I'm not saying you're old but hopefully I'll be back to next time and that brings us to today's the end of today's roundtable we'll see you next time
