Bruno Vellas, a professor of medicine and founder of IHU HealthAge in Toulouse, says a 70-year-old person today has an intrinsic capacity comparable to what a 60-year-old had two decades ago.
In an interview published by Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, the French geriatrician proposed systematically monitoring physical and mental capabilities starting from age 50 to detect early declines before frailty turns into dependence.
Intrinsic capacity brings together an individual's physical and mental functions, according to Vellas. He called for regular monitoring of six key areas: vision, hearing, mobility, memory, psychological well-being, and vitality.
Vellas noted that calendar age reveals very little about what a person can do for themselves, as two individuals born on the exact same day can preserve their mobility, memory, hearing, or energy in vastly different ways. As a result, calendar age is insufficient when the medical goal is preventing dependency.
The geriatrician emphasized that living longer retains its true value when individuals maintain their autonomy to walk, remember, see, hear, and make decisions about their own lives. While the observed improvement represents a population average rather than making every 70-year-old identical, functional health must still be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Monitoring intrinsic capacity with the WHO ICOPE program
To spot early functional losses, Vellas highlighted the Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) program created by the World Health Organization, which tracks functional health starting at age 50.
France is already tracking approximately 150,000 older adults through the ICOPE framework, according to the geriatrician. The primary goal of the program is to uncover any drop in vision, hearing, mobility, memory, psychological well-being, or vitality while action is still possible.
Functional monitoring can take place during routine medical consultations or with the aid of digital tools. Health watches can track trends over time, but Vellas cautioned that data from consumer wearables cannot replace a formal clinical evaluation.
Screenless wristbands show a growing interest in tracking sleep and physical activity, but Vellas warned that an isolated sensor provides only a single piece of a person's complete functional state. Wrist devices and ring watches can monitor activity, pulse, sleep, or blood oxygen levels, yet the data only gains clinical meaning when compared against symptoms, medical tests, and sustained changes over time.
Research into geroscience and biological aging
Beyond immediate clinical screening, the field of geroscience aims to measure biological age and understand the underlying reasons why multiple age-related diseases emerge over time.
Vellas identified plasma biomarkers, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence as promising avenues of research. However, he warned that validated biomarkers are still lacking before these technologies can be introduced into routine medical practice.
Similarly, while laboratory brain organoids allow researchers to study cellular processes over several years, doctor consultations require tests that have been thoroughly validated in human patients.
In everyday life, functional capacity is recognized through simple routine actions rather than lab tests. Vellas pointed to ordinary tasks such as standing up from a chair, climbing a step, following a conversation, or preparing a meal as direct indicators of functional health.
Healthcare access and intervention resources
Vellas stressed that measuring functional decline early obliges the medical system to decide how to respond. Receiving an alert about hearing loss requires access to a diagnostic test and a hearing solution, just as detecting reduced muscle strength is of little use without structured resources to intervene.
Effective prevention requires continuous follow-up and healthcare access, particularly for individuals living alone, those with lower incomes, or people facing barriers to medical appointments. While wearable technology can facilitate early warnings, the actual medical response remains dependent on the health system and local social support.
Vellas summarized the priority by stating that acting early is far more effective than waiting for frailty or dependency to appear. He argued that medical care should focus on what functions are preserved and what is starting to decline, noting that the best measure of aging remains the tasks a person can perform and wishes to keep doing.
Related research on mobility and cognitive memory
Separate scientific studies highlight how targeted interventions and cognitive patterns affect older adults. A study from researchers at Pennsylvania State University confirmed that four minutes of daily strength exercises improved mobility in adults over 65 within 12 weeks.
Meanwhile, psychology researchers at Queen's University concluded that adults over the age of 75 frequently repeat the same stories because those memories originate from a key, defining stage of their lives.
