(SINGAPORE) At 79, Charlotte Wong does between 50 and 100 pull-ups in the morning. She trains three times a week with her two children at FitRX gym, lifting dumbbells, working resistance bands, and powering through full-body circuits. Once or twice a week, she jogs three laps around her condo.
“I don’t skip training,” she says. “My daughter likes to say: ‘Do you stop brushing your teeth?’ Same idea.”
Wong didn’t always live this way. In her working years, she was like many of Singapore’s high-achieving professionals – desk-bound, deadline-hounded and chronically tired. Turning to exercise at 57, she’s living proof that staying fit, sharp and resilient isn’t a genetic fluke – it’s the result of consistent, sustainable habits.
For many corporate workers juggling work, family and stress, the idea of “longevity” can feel abstract or luxurious. But it’s not about living to 120. It’s about having enough energy, health and focus to perform – and enjoy life – now and in the years to come.
We speak with four experts to distil actionable longevity strategies into eight steps: Dr Neil Forrest of Osler Health, Dr Naras Lapsys of Chi Longevity, Dr Hisham Badaruddin of Bartley Clinic, and health coach Alastair Hunt who founded The Whole Health Practice.
Step 1: Start with a question
“Before anything, ask yourself: why do you want to live longer?” says Dr Forrest. “That may sound basic, but it sets the tone for everything else.”
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The experts see many clients chasing trends – biohacking, supplements and wearables. But without a strong “why”, the plan rarely sticks.
“The people who succeed are the ones who anchor their habits in purpose,” says Hunt. “Whether it’s being present for your grandkids, staying independent well into your 80s, or simply waking up with clarity and energy – the motivation has to come from within.”
Wong, for instance, began her transformation because she didn’t want to be a “burden to anyone”. That simple desire fuelled her discipline – and gave her habits meaning.
Step 2: Check your baseline
Tracking progress starts with knowing where you stand. One of the simplest indicators? Weight. “It’s accessible, cheap, and gives you a meaningful signal,” says Hunt. Regularly checking your body-mass index is a start, but don’t stop there.
Look to markers that offer practical, actionable insight: blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammation levels, metabolic health, and body composition. These numbers help craft a personalised road map.
Dr Hisham typically begins with an extensive panel of 130 to 140 biomarker tests for his clients. “It sounds like a lot,” he says, “but it gives us a very clear picture of what’s working – and what’s not.”
Some clients want to go further, exploring “biological age” tests that estimate how old your body is functioning compared to your real age. These include DNA methylation tests, telomere length, and mitotic clocks. But experts urge caution.
“Your foundational blood panels – cholesterol, inflammation markers, metabolic data, nutrient levels – are far more actionable than a biological age test,” says Dr Forrest.
Dr Lapsys of Chi Longevity agrees – he takes a stricter, evidence-based approach. “We can’t reverse ageing. But we can slow its pace,” he says. “And to do that, we need to start with a full assessment.” At Chi, patients undergo in-depth diagnostics, including gut microbiome profiling, genetic analysis, hormone panels, and inflammation markers.
Step 3: Eat like your life depends on it
For many busy professionals, food is often an afterthought – shoved between meetings or used as an indulgent reward after a long day. But what you eat builds the body and brain you bring to work and life.
Septuagenarian Wong follows what she calls the “no S.O.A.P.” rule: no sugar, oil, additives, or processed food in her daily meals. Her indulgences are rare and intentional – chendol just three or four times a year, and the occasional “cheat” meal when socialising.
Dr Forrest cautions against convenience foods. “Singaporeans eat out a lot, but they don’t always realise how processed many meals are,” he says. “Convenience is seductive – but you give up control over what’s actually going into your body.”
Dr Lapsys agrees. “The modern diet is far more processed than ever, and with that we’ve lost variety – especially in plant foods,” he says. “That’s come at a cost to our gut health, immunity, and long-term vitality.”
His advice: cook at home more often so you know what you’re eating, and eat more plants and more types of them. “We have overwhelming evidence that increasing the variety and volume of plant foods improves healthspan and lifespan,” he says. “Even small changes – like swapping one meal a day to include more vegetables – can have an impact.”
Time-restricted eating can help too. Dr Lapsys says: “Caloric restriction and intermittent fasting show promise, especially in animal studies, but it’s not for everyone.”
And remember: “What’s good for your heart is also good for your brain,” says Dr Forrest. “People often forget that metabolic health and brain health are deeply connected. But poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, obesity – they don’t just affect your heart, they affect your brain too. Having high blood pressure, chronic inflammation, and diabetes all raise your risk of dementia.”
Step 4: Build muscle, stay young
Muscles aren’t just for looks – they’re your body’s best defence against ageing. Regular strength and cardio training builds resilience, improves metabolic health, sharpens your mind, and protects against decline.
“Be well-muscled – without being a bodybuilder – and have good cardiovascular fitness,” says Hunt. “Consistency across strength, cardio, and flexibility is key.”
Wong proves it. She only started gym training at 72. Now, at 79, she cycles through chest, biceps, shoulders, core, back, legs, and full-body workouts. Her routine isn’t complicated. “Fifteen minutes in the morning, 15 at lunch, 15 after work – that’s your hour,” Wong explains. “And you don’t have to do it daily. Three times a week is enough.”
The science backs her up. After age 30, we lose about 3 to 8 per cent of muscle mass each decade – a condition known as sarcopenia. After 60, that decline speeds up. Meanwhile, higher VO2 max – a measure of cardiovascular fitness – is strongly linked to lower mortality.
Step 5: Sleep, the silent crisis
Ask Dr Hisham what the biggest health issue in Singapore is, and he doesn’t miss a beat: “Many Singaporeans sleep very badly,” he says. “And I think a lot of it comes down to stress – stemming from the gap between our expectations and our reality.”
In a hyper-efficient, performance-driven society such as Singapore, many are conditioned to chase an ideal – of career success, financial security and personal growth. But when life doesn’t unfold according to that script – when promotions stall, relationships strain, or health issues emerge – the disconnect creates an internal tension that follows us to bed.
Dr Forrest agrees. “There’s an epidemic of sleeplessness here. In a high-pressure, high-cost urban environment, people try to squeeze too much into their days – and sleep is the first thing they sacrifice.”
The consequences are serious: impaired focus, hormonal imbalances, weight gain, burnout, even a higher risk of dementia.
So what’s the fix? Prioritise sleep with the same urgency you give to deadlines – because your long-term performance depends on it. Dr Forrest recommends starting with the basics. “Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. No screens before sleep. Keep your room cool, dark and quiet. And don’t underestimate the sleep-boosting benefits of daily movement.”
Above all, treat sleep as non-negotiable – not the thing you do after everything else, but the thing that allows you to do everything else well.
Step 6: Supplement sparingly
Influencers love them, biohackers swear by them. But longevity experts are a lot more cautious.
“There aren’t any supplements that have been definitively shown to slow ageing in humans,” says Dr Forrest. “Some – like NAD, urolithin A, spermidine – are promising and generally safe. But we’ve seen this before. Remember resveratrol? It didn’t live up to the hype.”
The bigger issue isn’t just effectiveness – it’s how supplements are sold. “It’s a multi-billion dollar industry built on marketing,” says Hunt. “Most people end up focusing on pills instead of doing the hard stuff – sleeping better, moving more, eating right.”
Dr Lapsys agrees. “Supplements aren’t regulated like medicine. People with the loudest voices or best marketing get heard – but that doesn’t mean the science is solid. Something might work in mice. That doesn’t mean it works for you.”
Even Dr Hisham, who personally takes NMN and omega-3s, urges moderation. “I tested myself and found I don’t actually need NMN,” he says. “But I take it because it makes me feel good in the morning. That’s it.”
So what should you do? If a blood or DNA test shows you’re deficient in something – iron, B12, D3, and so on – go for it. Otherwise, you could be wasting money, or worse, disrupting your body’s balance.
“Supplements should be treated like medication,” says Dr Lapsys. “They need to be tailored to your age, gender, genetics and specific health markers.”
For the record, nearly all the experts interviewed take multivitamins and omega-3s. But almost none mention popular supplements such as collagen peptides, creatine or lion’s mane.
Step 7: Guard your social life
In the pursuit of career success, social lives are often the first to go. Friends become calendar entries, catch-ups get postponed – and soon, the only people you speak to outside of work are family and Grab drivers.
But losing touch isn’t just sad. It’s dangerous.
“Social health is one of the three major components of health, as defined by the World Health Organization,” says Hunt. “Yet it’s often the one people overlook.”
Studies link loneliness to everything from weakened immunity to increased risk of dementia. And in Singapore – where long hours are common – even the most high-functioning professionals can find themselves isolated.
“We’ve had clients who are so focused on work and family, they’ve lost touch with their own friends,” Hunt says. “They get meaning from their families, yes, but they also need connection beyond that.”
The good news? Singapore is full of opportunities to reconnect – running clubs, nature walks, community gardens, volunteer programmes. The trick is to find something you genuinely enjoy and show up.
Wong, for instance, found her tribe at the gym. “We train, we laugh, we eat together. These friendships keep me young.”
Step 8: Change the narrative on ageing
Rethink what ageing means to you.
Wong, for one, only picked up strength training in her 70s. “At first, I couldn’t even do a single pull-up. After four years of trying, I was able to do one. Now, seven years since I started training, I can do up to 100 in one session.”
The results? Her LDL cholesterol is lower than it was a decade ago. Her blood pressure? “110 over 70 – perfect!” she beams. Clinical tests back her up: her arterial age clocks in at 56, and her biological age is 10 years younger than her actual one.
She’s No. 1 in her age group on the Longevity World Cup, a global leaderboard tracking performance, biomarkers, and lifestyle. She’s 15th among all women and 51st overall.
“There is no secret to my success. I show up. I train. I eat clean. I sleep. That’s it.”
And if you think it’s too late to start, she’s got a message for you: “You can copy me. Exercise like me, eat like me, sleep like me – and be fit like me. It can be done.”
