The Aging Curve - When Does Physical Performance Actually Decline?
AOL.com • • health
Key Points:
- A Swedish longitudinal study tracked 427 individuals from age 16 to 63, measuring aerobic capacity, muscular endurance, and power at five life stages to determine peak physical performance and its decline.
- Muscular power peaks earliest—around age 19 for women and 27 for men—while aerobic capacity peaks in the mid-30s for both sexes, followed by a progressive decline accelerating from under 1% to over 2% annually.
- There is significant individual variation in aging trajectories, with physical activity identified as the key factor in maintaining higher fitness levels across endurance, power, and aerobic capacity tests.
- Study limitations include infrequent measurements over 47 years, particularly an 18-year gap during midlife, and simplistic
