Can we really track how well we’re ageing? Experts explain what ‘intrinsic capacity’ can tell us about our physical and mental health – and how we can build it.
Longevity is the wellness buzzword that’s showing no signs of diminishing, and with good reason: as lifespans increase, it’s more important than ever to ensure we’re living in good health for as long as possible.
We’ve long associated healthy ageing with markers such as physical fitness and mental capacity, but these can be subjective and tricky to assess.
But what if there was a way to assess how well we are ageing? Enter the idea of intrinsic capacity. Defined by the World Health Organisation in 2015 as part of its healthy ageing initiative as “the composite of all the physical and mental capacities that an individual can draw on at any point in time”, the concept is being hailed by experts as a more holistic way to track the ageing process.
Here, we take a look at what it really means and how it can be measured.
As touched on above, the idea of intrinsic capacity has been in popular wellbeing parlance for over a decade, but it’s really capturing the interest of experts right now.
“Essentially, intrinsic capacity is the combination of our physical and mental abilities at any given stage of life,” says Dr Mohammed Enayat, a GP, longevity expert and founder of HUM2N. “The World Health Organisation identifies five key areas: 1) locomotion, 2) vitality, 3) cognition, 4) sensory function and 5) psychological health.
“Rather than looking at how old we are or whether we have a diagnosed condition, intrinsic capacity is about understanding how well our bodies and minds are functioning.”
As such, the concept provides a more realistic, ongoing assessment of our individual ageing process, rather than a simple snapshot. This being said, it’s worth noting that no assessment criteria is without its drawbacks.
“These capacities are just one part of healthy ageing,” says Dr Lucy Hooper, a GP and co-founder of Coyne Medical. “You can score well across all five domains and still have a high risk of cardiovascular disease or cancer, for example. These are risks that intrinsic capacity doesn’t directly account for.”
What can intrinsic capacity tell us about how well we are ageing?
Much of how we think about ageing is dictated by societal constructs such as chronological age, where we’re at career-wise or in the context of fertility. But these factors in isolation don’t really provide much information about how healthily (or otherwise) we’re ageing.
“Intrinsic capacity can tell us a bit more about how we’re ageing than simply looking at our chronological age, which is how many years we’ve lived, this we all know,” says Dr Hooper. “We can all think of two people in their 70s who have very different levels of physical fitness, cognition and independence.”
And the science agrees: studies have found associations between lower intrinsic capacity and an increased likelihood of becoming frail, as well as higher mortality rates, but Dr Hooper notes that these are observational studies only.
“We don’t yet have a clear, established marker for what level of intrinsic capacity we should be aiming for to achieve our goal, which is to remain active, independent, engaged and having fun in life as we get older,” she tells Stylist. “I suspect one thing we’ll find as we gather more data from these studies is that tracking changes in our measurements will actually be much more useful at an individual level than reaching a particular score or target.
“For instance, if your walking speed is declining, your muscle strength is decreasing or your cognition is changing, that’s a good reason to investigate further, look for possible causes and see whether we can address the cause and improve or preserve your function.”
Intrinsic capacity can tell us a bit more about how we’re ageing
Can we improve our intrinsic capacity?
So, can we work on our intrinsic capacity, or is it something we’re born with? The good news is that, just as we can influence longevity via lifestyle, so too can we build intrinsic capacity.
“Intrinsic capacity can be improved, and that’s the encouraging part,” says Dr Enayat. “While we cannot control everything, there’s a lot we can do to influence how we feel and function as we age. Regular exercise, particularly strength training, good quality sleep, a nutrient-rich diet with adequate protein and managing stress are all important foundations, but it’s also worth considering metabolic health, cardiovascular risk factors and any underlying deficiencies or medical conditions that could be affecting how we feel and function.”
The real value lies not in a one-off reading but in monitoring intrinsic capacity over time. And it’s never to early to start.
“Improving intrinsic capacity isn’t something we should only think about when we reach our 60s or 70s,” says Dr Hooper. “It’s something people of all ages, particularly from midlife onwards, should be focusing on.
“The goal shouldn’t be to achieve some metric in an app or on a wearable but to think about all the things we can do to build and maintain our physical and mental capacity so that we’re able to enjoy a happy, healthy and active old age.”
Images: Getty