Healthy Aging in Times of Extreme Temperatures: Biomedical Approaches

Aging Dis. 2024 Apr 1;15(2):601-611. doi: 10.14336/AD.2023.0619.

Abstract

Climate extremes and rising energy prices present interconnected global health risks. Technical solutions can be supplemented with biomedical approaches to promote healthy longevity in hot and cold conditions. In summer, reducing basal metabolic rate through mild caloric restriction or CR mimetics, such as resveratrol, can potentially be used to lower body temperature. In winter, activating brown adipose tissue (BAT) for non-shivering thermogenesis and improved metabolic health can help adaptation to colder environments. Catechins found in green tea and in other food could be alternatives to drugs for these purposes. This review examines and discusses the biomedical evidence supporting the use of CR mimetics and BAT activators for health benefits amid increasingly extreme temperatures.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adipose Tissue, Brown / metabolism
  • Cold Temperature
  • Healthy Aging*
  • Tea / metabolism
  • Temperature

Substances

  • Tea

Grants and funding

GF is supported by the BMBF (FKZ 01ZX1903A and 03V0396), Karls Erdbeerhof, Rövershagen, Germany, and the Interdisziplinäre Fakultät (Department AGIS) of Rostock University.