“When it comes to everyday people’s lives, what’s important to them isn’t always the biological age or their clock, they actually want to make sure that they’re functionally happy, that they can still go out and dance or go for a long walk or play with their grandchildren–those are the things that matter to people,” he said. “ Biological clocks are a view into the science, but they’re not necessarily going to help us unless we really understand what they mean and how they affect what we do.”
Looking at how science can tackle aging in a world with declining birth rates and an increasingly elderly population, Professor Weinkove—who is chair of the British Society for Research on Ageing and Durham University professor—highlighted that while lifestyle factors like exercise, diet and weight management are proven beneficial, many people simply struggle with adherence.
He examined both pharmaceutical and natural solutions, from GLP-1 agonists to omega-3s, emphasizing the need for long-term studies rather than short-term trials that often come with placebo effects.
“Things like GLP-1 agonists have an effect on weight loss, but they also seem to have a knock-on effect on aging, which makes a lot of sense, and I think that’s also the same thing for other preventative measures in the medical world, such as controlling blood pressure and cholesterol,” he said. “But really in the context of this conference, [it would be] fantastic if we can do those things without using pharmaceuticals, but by using natural products and other kinds of supplements.”
Professor Weinkove added that he has conducted proper long-term studies on omega-3s and vitamin D that found that the supplements did have an effect on aging over a long period of time.
“The problem is that doing these trials is costly, and we have to find ways to fund them,” he said.
Professor Weinkove is advocating for collaborative funding between industry, government and academia to conduct rigorous, costly research that validates healthspan interventions and keeps people healthier longer. He emphasized that while prevention-focused initiatives show promise for extending healthspan, scientists require better funding and support to advance aging research. He stressed the importance of collaboration between researchers, companies and the public, urging scientists to attend conferences and engage with diverse perspectives.
