Zhu Jie, the first client of SinoUnited Health's longevity clinic in Shanghai, recently "graduated" with significant improvements in weight management and four key health indicators — blood pressure, blood glucose, blood lipids, and uric acid.

More importantly, the 44-year-old entrepreneur — who faces constant mental and physical stress — said he now feels that he has enough energy to get through the day.

The longevity clinic advice he has followed since August on diet, sleep, and exercise has transformed his lifestyle into a healthy one, with good habits now part of his daily routine. It took just three months before his health indicators underwent noticeable changes.

"I could fit into shirts I hadn't been able to wear for over a decade," said Zhu. "At a class reunion everyone said I'm aging in reverse. Such positive feedback motivates me to continue maintaining a healthy lifestyle and lay the foundation for a healthy old age," said Zhu.

Over the past three years, approximately 50 medical institutions nationwide, including more than 10 public hospitals, have established longevity or anti-aging clinics. The most recent one was a center for proactive health and anti-aging medicine opened by the Beijing Geriatric Hospital in March.

These clinics usually take a multidisciplinary approach to health and chronic disease management. Aging is assessed using biomarkers and AI models, with the aim of providing tailored anti-aging plans for individuals with no major diseases, and focusing on early intervention and chronic disease prevention and management.

As people live longer, these clinics are a response to people's hopes to remain healthy and energetic in later life. The patients seeking longevity services are typically proactive about their health, said the doctors.

In early 2024, a document released by the General Office of the State Council on developing the silver economy and enhancing the well-being of the elderly supported the development of the anti-aging industry for the first time.

It proposed promoting the integration of biotechnology, such as genetic testing and molecular diagnostics, with efforts to delay age-related diseases, and developing early-screening products and services for such conditions. Industry experts believe this has also accelerated the embrace of comprehensive health management by public hospitals.