Does Eating Badly Make You Age? The Relationship Between Diet and Biological Aging in Young People

The study looked at the relationship between dietary patterns and biological aging in young twins. The results showed that diets high in fast food and processed meats and low in fruits and vegetables were associated with faster aging, while plant-based and balanced diets were linked to slower aging.

Diet has a profound impact on health and life expectancy. Diets rich in natural foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and healthy fats, help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, while diets high in fast food, processed meats and sugary drinks increase the likelihood of developing problems such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

One of the ways in which diet influences health is through epigenetics, a set of chemical modifications that regulate which genes are turned on or off without altering the DNA sequence.

The main one of these modifications is DNA methylation, which can influence the expression of genes linked to aging and the development of diseases.

Recently, scientists have developed so-called "epigenetic clocks," which analyze methylation patterns to estimate an individual's biological age and predict their life expectancy and rate of aging.

To better understand the relationship between diet and biological aging, researchers analyzed data from young twins, ages 21 to 25, drawn from the FinnTwin12 study.

Diet was assessed using food frequency questionnaires, while biological aging was measured using two epigenetic clocks: GrimAge, which estimates biological age based on DNA methylation and its relationship to disease and mortality, and DunedinPACE, which calculates the rate of aging, indicating whether a person is aging faster or slower than normal.

To identify different dietary patterns, the researchers used a statistical method called latent class analysis (LCA), which groups individuals with similar eating habits together.

Six distinct dietary patterns were identified in the study:

1. High intake of fast food and low intake of fruit and vegetables: characterized by relatively high intakes of high-fat processed meat, fast food (i.e., burgers, pizza, pastries, and French fries), sugar-sweetened beverages, and butter-margarine blends, and lower amounts of vegetables, fruits, berries, grain products, fish, yogurt, low-fat cheese, low-fat milk, and vegetable oils.

   
   

2. Plant-based: tended to consume high amounts of vegetables, fruits, porridge, muesli or cereals, chocolate, yogurt, tea, and vegetable oils, and low amounts of fast food, fish, meat, boiled or mashed potatoes, and soft drinks.

   
   

3. Health-conscious: favored low-fat products such as low-fat meat, low-fat milk, and low-fat cheese. Intakes of vegetables, fruits, berries, rye bread, and porridge were also high.

   
   

4. Westerner with infrequent fish consumption: characterized by high intakes of processed red meat (salami, sausage and high-fat cold cuts), meat dishes, fast food, soft drinks and butter-margarine mix and lower intakes of rye bread, porridge, boiled potatoes, vegetables, fruits, berries, yogurt, low-fat cheese, fish and vegetable oils.

   
   

5. Westerner with regular fish consumption: consumed large amounts of rice or pasta, boiled or mashed potatoes, processed red meat, meat dishes, chicken or poultry, fish, fast food, sugar-free drinks, soft drinks, fruit juice, skim milk, coffee and butter-margarine mix and relatively low amounts of vegetables, fruits, berries, desserts and vegetable oils.

   
   

6. Balanced average: They tended to consume large amounts of rye bread, porridge, fish, vegetables, fruits, berries, desserts and tea and smaller amounts of high-fat meat, margarine and butter mix and coffee, but their intake of other food items and beverages was average.

The results showed that individuals who followed healthier diets, such as plant-based and health-conscious, showed slower biological aging compared to those who frequently consumed fast food and had low intakes of fruits and vegetables.

Furthermore, individuals with a Western diet low in fish aged faster biologically than those with a balanced diet. These findings were significant even after adjusting for factors such as sex, calorie intake, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

When the researchers adjusted the models to include factors such as body mass index (BMI) and sports, the strength of the associations between diet and biological aging decreased slightly, but the difference between the balanced diet and the fast food-rich diet still remained significant.

This suggests that although other lifestyle factors also influence biological aging, diet remains a significant factor.

To better understand whether these associations were influenced by shared genetic and environmental factors, the researchers compared the data within twin pairs.

Most of the associations between diet and biological aging were replicated across all twin pairs and across dizygotic twin pairs (fraternal twins, who share about 50% of their DNA).

However, the effects were smaller among pairs of monozygotic twins (identical twins, who share nearly 100% of their DNA), suggesting that genetics may explain part of the relationship between diet and aging, but not all of it.

In other words, although genes play a role, eating habits still significantly affect the rate of aging.

The findings reinforce the idea that a balanced diet can help slow biological aging and prevent disease, even from a young age.

Since many chronic diseases take years to manifest, starting early with good eating habits may be an effective strategy for a longer, healthier life.

In addition, the study highlights the potential of epigenetic clocks as tools to assess the impacts of diet on health before clinical signs of disease appear.

In summary, diets high in fast food, processed red meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages and low in fruits and vegetables are associated with accelerated biological aging in young adulthood. The clustering effect of lifestyle factors and genetic confounders should be considered when interpreting the findings.

READ MORE:

Suboptimal dietary patterns are associated with accelerated biological aging in young adulthood: A study with twins

Suvi Ravia, Anna Kankaanpääa, Leonie H. Bogl, Aino Heikkinen, Kirsi H. Pietiläinen, Jaakko Kaprio, Miina Ollikainen, and Elina Sillanpääa

Clinical Nutrition, Volume 45, 10 - 21

DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2024.12.018

Abstract:

Suboptimal diets increase morbidity and mortality risk. Epigenetic clocks are algorithms that can assess health and lifespan, even at a young age, before clinical manifestations of diseases. We investigated the association between dietary patterns and biological aging in young adult twins. The data were drawn from the population-based FinnTwin12 study and consisted of twins aged 21–25 years (n = 826). Food and beverage intakes were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Biological aging was estimated using the epigenetic clocks GrimAge and DunedinPACE. Latent class analysis was used to identify dietary patterns. The association between dietary patterns and biological aging was assessed using linear regression modeling at the individual level, followed by within–twin pair analyses to account for genetic liabilities and shared familial confounders. Six dietary patterns were identified: 1) High fast food, low fruits and vegetables (F&V), 2) Plant-based, 3) Health-conscious, 4) Western with infrequent fish, 5) Western with regular fish, and 6) Balanced average. At the individual level, GrimAge acceleration was slower in the Plant-based, Health-conscious, and Balanced-average patterns compared to the High fast food, low F&V, and faster in the Western with infrequent fish pattern compared to the Balanced average, regardless of sex, nonalcoholic energy intake, smoking, and alcohol consumption. After further adjustment for BMI and sports participation, the strengths of the associations modestly decreased; however, the difference between the Balanced-average and High fast food, low F&V patterns remained significant. The pace of aging (DunedinPACE) was slower in the Plant-based pattern compared to the High fast food, low F&V and the Western with infrequent fish patterns after adjustment for sex, nonalcoholic energy intake, smoking, and alcohol. The effect sizes were attenuated and reached a non-significant level when BMI and sports participation were added to the model. Most of the associations were replicated in the within-pair analyses among all twin pairs and among dizygotic twin pairs, but the effect sizes tended to be smaller among monozygotic twin pairs. This suggests that genetics, but not a shared environment, may partially explain the observed associations between diet and biological aging. Diets high in fast food, processed red meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages and low in fruits and vegetables are associated with accelerated biological aging in young adulthood. The clustering effect of lifestyle factors and genetic confounders should be considered when interpreting the findings.