Healthy aging plan begins before birth

The authors emphasize that health in old age is not formed from scratch in adulthood. The future resilience of the body is heavily influenced by factors before and immediately after birth, such as the health of the parents, nutrition, sleep, and early life experiences. These conditions leave a lasting impact on human biology, effectively setting the baseline for the body’s resilience. Therefore, experts view the early stages of life not just as a phase of growth but as a crucial window of opportunity for building health reserves that will last throughout life.

This initiative goes beyond specific medical protocols. Her main goal is to create a scientific and research infrastructure for future discoveries. Among the priorities:

• to combine disparate medical data sets from different countries to trace long-term trends;
• to form common biobanks with biological samples that will help to identify health markers relevant precisely to the growing organism;
• to launch international studies to test how improving everyday parameters (nutrition, sleep, the state of the microbiome and metabolic health in childhood) affects long-term health trajectories and the pace of biological aging.

Implementing this strategy will require a major overhaul of the healthcare system. Currently, it is divided into isolated sectors, such as obstetrics, pediatrics, and adult medicine, which rarely interact with each other. Additionally, the existing tools for assessing biological age are designed for adults and are not well-suited to the rapidly changing biology of children.

The solution is a lifelong roadmap that will connect these disparate parts. Proactive check-ups should become a natural part of regular doctor visits, taking into account the specific needs of each developmental stage. For example, the program may include:

• supporting a healthier lifestyle for parents a year before conception;
• monitoring the baby’s sleep and nutrition;
• tracking physical fitness and mental health during adolescence.

Thus, the PROSPER strategy focuses not on treating age-related changes, but on building resilience from an early age to ensure a healthy aging process.