A new research paper was published in Aging (Aging-US) on January 29, 2025, in Volume 17, Issue 2, titled “Diet, lifestyle and telomere length: using Copula Graphical Models on NHANES data.”

Researchers Angelo M. Tedaldi, Pariya Behrouzi, and Pol Grootswagers from Wageningen University and Research used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to explore how diet and lifestyle affect telomere length, a key marker of cellular aging. They found that inflammation-rather than diet, exercise, or smoking-had the strongest and most consistent association to telomere shortening. The findings suggest that reducing inflammation may be more effective than dietary changes in slowing down the aging process at the cellular level.

Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that get shorter as we age. When they become too short, cells lose the ability to divide properly, which can contribute to aging and age-related diseases. Previous studies suggested that healthy habits might protect telomeres, but many focused on a small number of factors and did not account for important elements like inflammation or differences in blood cell composition. This study aimed to take a more complete, data-driven approach.

The research team analyzed health data from over 7,000 U.S. adults collected between 1999 and 2002. Using a method called Copula Graphical Modeling, they examined more than 100 variables-such as diet, physical activity, smoking, and blood biomarkers-across three age groups: Young (20–39 years), Middle (40–59 years), and Old (60–84 years). They found that telomere length was most strongly associated to age, levels of C-reactive protein (CRP)-a common marker of inflammation-and gamma-tocopherol, a form of vitamin E found in the blood. Higher CRP levels were consistently associated with shorter telomeres, especially in younger and middle-aged adults.

The results suggest that while lifestyle factors like diet and exercise still play a role, their impact on aging may be indirect-mainly through their influence on inflammation. This finding shifts the focus toward managing chronic inflammation as a potentially more effective way to preserve telomere length and promote healthy aging.

“The central role played by CRP and the marginal role of antioxidants suggests that telomeres are particularly vulnerable not to oxidative stress, but to inflammation; and they should be protected against it.”

The study challenges earlier research that looked at individual lifestyle factors isolated. By using a more advanced and inclusive method, this analysis offers a clearer picture of how health behaviors, biological markers, and aging are connected.

Although this research cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship, it strongly supports the idea that inflammation plays a key role in cellular aging. The authors recommend further long-term studies to better understand how inflammation affects telomere length over time. In the meantime, reducing chronic inflammation may be one of the most important steps to help support healthy aging and reduce the risk of age-related diseases.