Healthspan is the New Trend, Why is Healthy Living More Important than Long Life?

JAKARTA - The life expectancy of the world's population continues to increase thanks to advances in medical technology and health services.

As we get older, it does not necessarily follow that the quality of life will remain good. Therefore, experts are now beginning to shift the focus from just lifespan or life expectancy to healthspan, which is how long a person can live in a healthy, active, and independent condition.

The concept of healthy longevity or healthy longevity is increasingly discussed in the health world. This approach emphasizes the importance of maintaining body condition early through disease risk detection, lifestyle changes, and regular health monitoring, not just treating diseases when symptoms appear.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the global average life expectancy is around 73 years. However, the average person only enjoys about 63 years in good health.

This means that there is a gap of about a decade when many people begin to experience a decline in body functions or face chronic diseases.

This condition encourages the development of preventive and proactive healthcare approaches, namely health services that focus on prevention and early detection.

Unlike routine health examinations which generally only look for the presence of diseases, this approach also seeks to identify risk factors from the beginning so that lifestyle changes can be made before the disease develops.

One of the concepts that began to be introduced in the approach is biological age. Unlike chronological age which is calculated based on the date of birth, biological age describes a person's body condition based on various health indicators, such as metabolic function, heart health, body composition, to cognitive ability.

In other words, a person who is 50 years old chronologically can have the body condition of a 40-year-old person if they apply a healthy lifestyle.

Therefore, modern health services now do not only rely on laboratory test results, but also combine them with lifestyle analysis, diet, physical activity, sleep quality, and stress levels to formulate more personalized health recommendations.

This trend has begun to be adopted by various health service providers, including the insurance sector. Recently, PT AIA Financial introduced the AIA Healthy Longevity service, a science-based health service that combines comprehensive health checks, analysis by a multidisciplinary team, and personalized lifestyle support.

This service is intended to help customers understand their health conditions in more depth while encouraging preventive measures to maintain long-term health.

AIA President Director, Harsya Prasetyo, said that the increasing life expectancy makes people need to pay more attention to the quality of life in old age.

"As people's life expectancy increases, the biggest challenge is to ensure that these years are lived in a healthy and productive condition. We want to help people understand their body condition more deeply and take proactive steps to maintain health early on," he said.

Similar approaches are also supported by various studies which show that lifestyle changes, such as maintaining a nutritious diet, regular exercise, adequate sleep, managing stress, and having regular health check-ups can help reduce the risk of various non-communicable diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and several types of cancer.

Moreover, with the increasing life expectancy in Indonesia, attention to healthspan is expected to be a new trend in health services.

It is no longer just about trying to live longer, but ensuring that every additional age is accompanied by optimal physical and mental conditions so that a person can enjoy life more productively and quality.