Highlights
· What is agelessness?
· What does agelessness mean in an ageing population?
· How is society shaping agelessness?
· Which nutrition supplements are leading in agelessness?
When we think of ageing, we often think about the fight against growing old or reducing the visual effects of age. But there is another way to think of ageing, reframing and shaping it into a new concept: agelessness.
This re-framing speaks to the emotive aspect of ageing; repositioning growing older as something to be embraced instead of feared.
Agelessness is inextricably linked to societal views on life and ageing. So, to discuss agelessness is to discuss how ageing has been viewed in society over time as well as how these views are changing.
An ageing population
We are an ageing population, particularly in the Western world. People are living longer than ever before, thanks to developments in technology, medicine, public health and hygiene; coupled with lower fertility rates.
As we age there is an inevitable age-related decline in health and general functionality, with many people nowadays living with illness in their final decade. However, the rate of decline depends on an individual's exercise and nutrition habits.
How is society shaping agelessness?
Societally, we’re seeing a shift in the way people view their health in the long term, with a growing number of people adopting an active lifestyle to improve health and longevity. People want to become active participants in their health and well-being as they age.
This translates to the healthy behaviours younger people are adopting, and subsequently, the products they use in the pursuit of extending their healthy years.
Three nutrition areas making agelessness take off
Collagen
Collagen continues to go from strength to strength, and to all intents and purposes, is focused on ageing, regardless of whether the brand or product proposition
explicitly states this. Collagen supplements are synonymous with feel good, look good and harnessing beauty from within. Collagen underpins agelessness as a natural way to look and feel better as we age, and we don’t see this trend slowing down anytime soon.
Cellular health
The newest trend to hit the agelessness market is halting, or even reducing biological age at the cellular level. We’re likely to see a lot more of this, particularly as the opportunities here could be low-cost, as a lot of the ingredients involved in products are derived from everyday foods and aren’t necessarily dependent on expensive-to-manufacture supplements.
This is good news as it removes the cost barrier and makes the concept of reversing biological age available to a wider audience. However, some brands are backing up their cellular health claims with peer-reviewed research and branded ingredients, which do come at a premium.
Women’s health
Women’s health is a trend itself, however, much of the premise of women’s health discusses perimenopause and menopause when paired with ageing. Ageing in women is also inextricably linked to beauty and ever-changing beauty standards, with society driving women to face age and their perception of beauty at every stage of life.
So, the shifting concept from ageing to agelessness will inevitably affect products sold specifically to women, but hopefully in a more positive way.
