Koreans in their 30s and 40s will likely be the first generation to age faster than their parents because they are exposed to an “accelerated aging environment,” an expert said.
Professor Jung Hee-won of Geriatric Medicine at Asan Medical Center (AMC) in Seoul said so at a round-table meeting hosted by the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency to discuss problems regarding Korea's old-age healthcare policy and possible solutions.
"Accelerated aging during youth is a major reason for increasing chronic diseases in the elderly and deteriorating bodily functions in old age," Professor Jung said. "Accelerated aging of young adults, including those in their 30s and 40s, will increase the burden on medical services."
Jung explained that chronic stress levels rise as you fixate on what you have and don't have.
He added that digitalization results in more frequent contact with work through messenger services and e-mails, noting that the brain is constantly stimulated by addictive SNS platforms like YouTube, Netflix, and TikTok, making it difficult for the brain to rest.
Jung referenced the results of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s 2020 National Health and Nutrition survey, which showed that 58.2 percent of men in their 30s and 50.7 percent of men in their 40s are obese.
Moreover, Professor Jung said the prevalence of hypertension among men in their 40s stands at 31.5 percent. He also emphasized that this same age group has less than a 50 percent treatment rate for hypertension and diabetes.
Jung mentioned that other factors in Korean society that lead to accelerated aging include long commuting times, unstable careers, financial deterioration, residential anxiety, and highly processed foods.
Professor Jung recommended natural physical activity, exercise, smoking cessation, abstinence from alcohol, restrained eating, mindfulness, stress management, recovery sleep, and spiritual health to prevent chronic diseases and slow aging.
He also criticized the limitations of medical systems which treat diseases by specialty. However, he explained that this makes it difficult to treat dementia patients unless the physician is a psychiatrist or neurologist, thus limiting access to care. In this regard, Jung advocated for a more integrated approach to address this issue, as aging is a multifaceted problem.