Current Strategies for Healthy Aging: The Interplay Between Nutrition, Metabolism, and Exercise

Healthy behaviors, such as a balanced diet, physical activity, and health care, have favored an increase in life expectancy. However, in Western society and some developing nations, a sedentary lifestyle and poor nutritional choices are more common, increasing the risk of developing disease in old age. We propose to characterize the interplay between nutrition, metabolism, and exercise for better and worse: its contribution to a pathological state when unbalanced, while integrated dietary interventions and exercise promote metabolic health and healthy aging. Caloric-restricted diets or diets rich in compounds with antioxidant action may have a positive impact on aging in the nervous system, being a protective factor against cognitive decline. In addition to the beneficial effect of physical exercise on motor skills, fragility, and the prevention of sarcopenia, regular physical activity is also neuroprotective. An adequate diet and the practice of exercise are critical players for healthy aging, optimizing cognitive function, maintaining muscle mass, and a balanced metabolism.