Survey shows that millennials are facing a faster decline in health compared to earlier generations despite their heightened health awareness. gettyimagesbank

HONG KONG — In an alarming trend, millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, have become the subject of a paradox: they are facing a faster decline in health compared to older generations despite a heightened awareness of fitness among younger people.

This perplexing phenomenon, initially identified in the United States, is now resonating across major Asian countries, including Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, countering conventional expectations that the health-savvy younger generation would enjoy increased longevity.

According to a 2020 study by medical insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield in the United States, millennials face an accelerated deterioration in both physical and mental health, with conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, depression, and anxiety disorders appearing at an earlier age compared to older generations.

For example, Korean millennials are positioned to outpace their parents in aging, Hong Kong is observing an alarming rise in age-related ailments, and the younger generation in Singapore finds itself susceptible to an accelerated decline in health.

Rapid aging in Korean millennials

Professor Jung Hee-won

Jung Hee-won, a medical professor and doctor at the geriatric medicine department at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, noted that young adults in Korea are on track to be the first generation to experience an accelerated aging process compared to their parents.

"People who are in their 30s and 40s are susceptible to age-related diseases that people in their 50s and 60s would normally experience," Jung said. "This means they are more susceptible to long-term chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease (all of which can speed up the aging process)."

Jung explained a number of factors contributing to this phenomenon, such as consuming large amounts of ubiquitous processed foods, including sugary snacks; physical inactivity; stress; poor work-life balance; and financial difficulties.

Many studies have linked obesity with accelerated aging, in part because corpulence contributes to the DNA damage that occurs as people age.

Supporting these findings, a study by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency revealed that in 2021, over half of Korean men in their 30s and 40s were classified as obese, with a body mass index exceeding 25. Specifically, 54.9 percent of men in their 30s and 54.2 percent in their 40s fell into this category.

This marked an increase from pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, where the obesity rates were 48.9 percent for Koreans in their 30s and 46.2 percent among people in their 40s.

The obesity rate in women is not as high as in men. But 19 percent of women in their 30s and 19.7 percent in their 40s were considered "skinny fat" in 2022, which means they have a relatively high percentage of body fat and low muscle mass, particularly in the arms and legs.

Research indicates that this combination of age-related muscle loss, known as sarcopenia, and increased body fat heightens the risk of cognitive impairment, another accelerator of aging.

Hong Kong millennials' health concerns

Professor Au Yeung Tung-wai

In Hong Kong, Au Yeung Tung-wai, an adjunct associate professor of the Jockey Club Institute of Ageing at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, observes a similar trend. He said there is a growing number of young adults whose biological age, or the age of their cells, is older than their chronological age, or the number of years they have lived.

"From my everyday encounter of people and through grip-strength measurement, I think it could be true that millennials may be weaker than their parents (were at) the same age," he said.

He, too, sees age-associated conditions such as obesity and diabetes developing earlier than before, attributed to a sedentary lifestyle.

"In the past, we had to walk and do a lot of physical activities. But after the rapid economic growth in the 1970s, people are working out less and they spend a high proportion of leisure time on social media instead of doing physical activities," the professor explained.

Medical insurance company Bupa surveyed 500 millennials aged 25-40 in Hong Kong in 2022 and the findings further highlighted the gap between health consciousness and actual physical fitness activities among that group.

The survey showed that young adults are not prioritizing their health, even though they know they should. More than 6 in 10 consider themselves to be health conscious — but fewer than half (48 percent) are satisfied with their overall physical condition.

More than half (53 percent) say they do not have enough time to maintain a healthy lifestyle – and 45 percent engage in physical exercise less than once a week. Nearly half (48 percent) believe stress keeps them from being healthier, and they commonly suffer from office-linked ailments, such as shoulder and neck pain, excessive eye strain and headaches.

Health experts say millennials in Asia are aging faster than baby boomers and a key factor behind this phenomenon is consuming large amounts of ubiquitous processed foods and sugary snacks. gettyimagesbank

Strategies for preserving health

Experts emphasize the importance of lifestyle changes for young adults to preserve and improve their health.

"The key to reversing accelerated aging depends on your lifestyle. You have to remodel your life and manage ‘intrinsic capacity'," Jung said, referring to the overall combination of an individual's physical and mental capacities.

He said this could be done through managing four "M's": mobility (engaging in frequent walking), medical issues (taking preventive measures such as eating healthy foods, being active and getting regular medical check-ups), mental activity (practicing meditation and staying present-focused) and focusing on what matters (setting priorities in life).

Au Yeung stressed the importance of building muscles in order to "lower your chance of suffering from fractures when you grow old."

Singapore's approach to healthy aging

Professor Reshma Merchant

The topic of accelerated aging among the youth is also a subject of concern in Singapore.

Associate Professor Reshma Merchant from the National University of Singapore's Department of Medicine pointed out the long-term socio-economic implications of accelerated aging in today's younger generation, who she describes as more prone to loneliness, anxiety and a sedentary lifestyle compared to how their parents' generation was at the same age.

"If the prevalence of chronic diseases goes up, there's going to be a loss of productivity as well," she said.

That is why she lauds the government's efforts to increase public awareness of healthy aging and cited Singapore's "Blue Zone 2.0" policies that encourage people to be active, socially engaged and choose healthier food options.

Blue zones are regions in the world where people are claimed to live, or to have recently lived, longer than average. The original locations include Sardinia in Italy, Okinawa Prefecture in Japan, Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Icaria in Greece and Loma Linda in the U.S. state of California.

In Singapore, well-established walking paths and cycling tracks, from coast to coast, across and around the island linking the city's many parks, have helped encourage an active lifestyle, Merchant said, as has providing exercise equipment in parks.

The government also cut sugar levels in sweetened drinks and introduced a four-level Nutri-Grade labeling system, based on the sugar and saturated fat content in beverages – to help Singaporeans make healthier choices.

Merchant, who is over the age of 50, shared her personal approach to maintaining health through regular exercise and a balanced diet.

"I go to the gym twice a week to do resistance exercise and burn calories. I also take vitamins like coenzyme Q10, cod liver oil and probiotics. The Mediterranean diet, fresh berries and broccoli help reduce saturated fat," she said. "After doing this actively over 18 months, all my aches and pains went away."