Vitality capacity preservation through lifelong aerobic exercise: a pathway to healthy ageing

Background The distinction between healthy and pathological ageing has led to the concept of vitality capacity (VC), which can be understood as the body physiological reserve. An individual VC can be estimated using 12 biomarkers spread across 3 domains: immune and stress response, energy and metabolism and neuromuscular function. Vitality capacity may be preserved by lifelong physical activity. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship between lifelong aerobic physical activity and VC. Methods VC of 20 lifelong active and 19 inactive healthy adults aged >55 years was assessed using 12 biomarkers across the three VC domains. Domain-specific z-scores were calculated and averaged to derive a global VC score. Principal component analysis was performed and loadings extracted to estimate domains weight, and multiple correlations were conducted to identify associations among biomarkers, domains and VC scores. Results VC was higher in lifelong active participants (+0.2 z-score units, p = 0.006) and correlated with age (r = -0.53, p < 0.001). Neuromuscular domain contributed most to VC variability, and the immune and stress response domain was higher in the active group (+0.4 z-score units, p = 0.001) as energy/metabolism among female participants (+0.5 z-score units, p.adj = 0.006). Conclusion Lifelong aerobic physical activity is associated with higher VC in older adults, particularly within the immune and stress response domain. These findings highlight the role of physical activity in preserving the physiological reserve and reinforce the relevance of lifelong aerobic physical activity as a driver of healthy ageing.