What Is Intrinsic Capacity and Why Should Nutrition Be Included in the Vitality Domain?

Healthy aging is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age” (1). The public health framework described in the World Report on Ageing and Health, introduced the concept of intrinsic capacity (ie, the composite of all the physical and mental capacities of an individual). By interacting with the environment (ie, all the factors in the extrinsic world that form the context of a person’s life), intrinsic capacity determines an individual’s functional ability (ie, the health-related attributes that enable people to be and to do what they have reason to value) (1). WHO has proposed this novel framework with the primary aim to optimize people’s abilities by focusing on (i) a comprehensive and more positive perspective of the aging process and (ii) recognizing that older people have a central role in their own lives. Moreover, healthy aging is relevant to everybody, regardless of the presence/absence of underlying conditions (2). This approach is intended to overcome the limitations of some traditional clinical practices (eg, chronological age-based decisions, disease-centered approaches) and assess the continuum of capacities and abilities for tailoring care to an older person’s unique needs. This paradigm shift is also considered critical for reducing the pervasive ageism of our societies and clinical practices.