[Sportschosun Park Araam] The sudden death of a star fitness trainer in his 30s has shocked many, and it comes with a warning that even people who appear healthy on the outside may be aging rapidly inside their bodies.
In the episode of Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS)'s "Three Perspectives" airing at 8:35 a.m. on Sunday the 12th, the program examines aging that can affect people of any age during the summer, when relentless heat and high humidity leave the body easily exhausted. Even if people eat nourishing foods and exercise to manage their health, it looks into the "inflammatory aging" that quietly progresses in the body's cells and is drawing growing attention in the medical community. The show explains that these internal changes can become the starting point for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and hypertension, regardless of whether a person is young or old.
In particular, the sweltering summer is the period when the body's aging clock moves fastest. According to research, levels of 11 inflammatory substances in the body can rise by as much as 3.8 times in midsummer compared with cooler seasons. This inflammation damages cells, and when cellular energy is depleted, early metabolic diseases can begin in people in their 20s and 30s, while chronic conditions can worsen in middle-aged and older adults. In the end, the key to staying healthy in summer is protecting the body's cellular time.
Humanity has long wanted to turn back that very "time of the cells." Docent Lee Ji-an highlights the history of expeditions in search of the "fountain of youth." The desire for youth was never just a legend. It also became a real force in history that drove countless explorers into unknown lands. The question now is whether the greatest explorer of the age, who set sail for uncharted seas with a compass in hand, ever found the "fountain of youth" and defied time.
Internal medicine specialist Choi Jeong-eun emphasized that "youth is determined by cells, not by age." She added that an autopsy performed after the sudden death of a muscular fitness trainer in his 30s found that his blood vessels and organs had been damaged to the level of a person in their 70s, warning that feeling safe because one is "still young" may be the most dangerous assumption of all.
Family medicine specialist Lee Seo-hyun explained that "the reason appearance and internal age can differ is that inflammatory aging attacks the blood vessels first." Blood vessels, which carry energy throughout the body, can harden and become blocked because of inflammatory aging. Even if someone looks young, their cells and blood vessels may age much faster than expected. These changes are often fatal because they progress slowly and without obvious symptoms.
When cellular energy drops, the body begins to accumulate more "zombie cells" that do not die but continue spreading inflammation. The problem is that a single zombie cell can trigger a chain reaction that makes healthy nearby cells sick as well. Left unchecked, this aging domino effect can spread out of control, and attention is now turning to concrete ways to stop it as the heat wave continues.
tokkig@sportschosun.com
