That headline is misleading. There isn’t a biological rule that most older adults can’t live much past 80. Life expectancy varies substantially by country, sex, genetics, socioeconomic circumstances, medical care, and health behaviors, and many people live well into their 80s, 90s, and beyond.
If the article is trying to explain why health risks increase with age, four major contributors are:
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Cardiovascular disease — risk of heart disease and stroke generally increases with age.
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Cancer — the risk of many cancers rises as cellular damage accumulates over time.
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Loss of muscle and physical function — age-related muscle loss can contribute to falls, disability, and loss of independence.
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Multiple chronic conditions — diabetes, kidney disease, lung disease, dementia, and other conditions become more common with age and can interact with one another.
But these are risk factors, not a prediction of how long an individual will live. Maintaining physical activity, not smoking, eating a nutritious diet, managing blood pressure/cholesterol/diabetes, getting recommended screening and vaccinations, and maintaining social and cognitive activity can all contribute to healthier aging.
If you share the four reasons from the original article, I can fact-check each one and separate the evidence from the clickbait.
