I attended a family gathering a few weekends ago to celebrate my uncle's 80th birthday. There was food, family, friends I hadn’t seen in decades, and some speeches highlighting what a remarkable man and doctor he is. But more remarkable than his achievements and regard from his family, patients, and friends is his vitality. He runs, cycles more places than he drives, swims in the ocean regularly, plays tennis, and helps his children and grandchildren renovate their homes when he is not seeing patients in his medical practice. This is a doctor who practices what he preaches to his patients about health, fitness, and lifestyle choices. He is living proof that age is just a number. How you feel daily is your true age measure.
Health professionals like Dr Howard Luks, an orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, are noticing a quiet but powerful trend: people aren’t just aging — they’re narrowing.
This “narrowing” isn’t caused by a single injury or illness. It’s the gradual shrinking of what your body can do, often without you noticing. Movements get smaller. Activities get avoided. Capabilities fade — not suddenly, but slowly enough to feel normal.
Think about the small shifts. Carrying fewer groceries. Sitting out activities you once enjoyed. Choosing comfort over movement. Individually, these decisions seem harmless. Over time, they compound.
According to Dr Luks, “ Yes, some decline is real. VO2 max drops. Max heart rate drops. Strength drops. Power drops faster than strength. Proprioception drops. But the unavoidable decline is only a small fraction of what most people are actually losing. The rest – the bigger part that turns a sixty-year-old into a frail seventy – year – old – is not aging. It is disuse.”
What’s concerning is how often this decline is mislabelled as “just aging.” While some physical changes are inevitable, a significant portion of functional loss comes from disuse — not time. Strength, endurance, and coordination don’t just disappear; they diminish when they’re no longer challenged.
In fact, research consistently shows that declines in strength and power outpace general fitness losses, directly impacting independence and quality of life. The difference between staying capable and becoming frail often comes down to daily habits.
The good news? This process is reversible — or at least highly modifiable.
The key is intentional resistance to the narrowing:
Left unchecked, narrowing accelerates. Muscles weaken, movements feel harder, and avoidance increases. But with awareness and action, you can interrupt the cycle.
Ageing is inevitable. Narrowing doesn’t have to be.
Stay capable. Stay engaged. Keep your world wide so you continue to live your best life!
Joel Tyack
