Keeping up with your active kiddos, thinking clearly at work and staying independent as you age all depend on physical and mental abilities that can be easy to take for granted – until something goes awry.
Understanding how those abilities work together, how they change and what it takes to preserve them is where intrinsic capacity comes in.
"Intrinsic capacity is basically the combination of a person's physical and mental abilities," explains Jimmy Noorlander, a licensed clinical social worker at Deseret Counseling in Utah.
It's a concept that gives researchers and clinicians a way to examine such abilities together, providing a fuller picture of health and healthy aging than the presence or absence of disease alone.
What is intrinsic capacity?
Intrinsic capacity refers to
the physical and mental abilities you can draw on at a given time, including walking, moving, thinking, remembering, seeing and hearing, says Noorlander. He adds that one’s age, genetics, lifestyle, existing illnesses and injuries and other evolving changes can all influence it.
"It’s a concept that focuses on what a person is capable of doing, rather than just what medical conditions they have," explains Noorlander. This matters because someone with a well-managed chronic condition may retain substantial abilities, while someone without a major diagnosis could still struggle with movement, memory or mood.
Intrinsic capacity differs from related concepts such as frailty and resilience. Frailty generally describes a state of increased vulnerability to health problems and other adverse outcomes, often because multiple physiological systems have lost some of their reserve. And "resilience is more about how someone handles and recovers from challenges," says Noorlander. Another concept, functional ability, considers a person's environment and support systems, such as two people with similar walking abilities having different levels of independence if only one has accessible transportation.
Intrinsic capacity matters because it can help doctors identify where a person's abilities are strong and where they may be starting to decline, plus what support or interventions could be useful in stopping it.
How is intrinsic capacity measured?
While "there isn't one universally accepted overall score," says Noorlander, assessing intrinsic capacity generally covers a person’s "mobility, cognition, vitality, sensory abilities and psychological well-being."
He explains that mobility includes strength, balance and movement, while cognition covers abilities such as memory and attention. "Vitality reflects the body's energy and metabolism," he adds, with "sensory capacity including things like hearing and vision and psychological capacity encompassing mood and other psychological resources."
These different capacities "can be evaluated by looking at things like strength and balance, memory, nutrition and energy, hearing and vision and emotional health," he says. They can also influence one another. "For example, decreased mobility or hearing can lead to less social interaction, which may then affect mood and overall quality of life," he says.
The World Health Organization’s Integrated Care for Older People approach provides practical ways these abilities can be screened, such as assessments that involve remembering three words, rising from a chair five times without using the arms, reporting appetite changes or unintentional weight loss or answering questions about depressive symptoms. Hearing and vision are also usually assessed.
While such checks don't establish a diagnosis on their own, they can guide further assessment and a personalized care plan, which can become especially important as we get older. "As we age, maintaining these abilities can help us stay independent and continue doing the things that are important to us," says Noorlander.
How can intrinsic capacity be improved?
Because "intrinsic capacity isn't completely fixed," says Noorlander, there are ways to preserve and potentially improve it.
A 2026 systematic review of randomized controlled trials found evidence that exercise can improve intrinsic capacity and quality of life. It’s one reason the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adults 65 and older get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity weekly, strengthen muscles on at least two days and include balance activities.
Noorlander also emphasizes good nutrition, getting enough sleep "and improving social connection and finding ways to stay mentally stimulated." Practical steps for improving such factors might include eating regular, nutritious meals, maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, reaching out to a friend or learning something new, such as an instrument, language or skill.
While developing such habits becomes especially important as we get older, "these are things we should think about all throughout adulthood," Noorlander says.
He adds that in addition to working to preserve intrinsic capacity, it’s also important to pay attention when something changes, such as shifts in appetite, memory, mobility, mood, hearing or vision – "these all warrant attention from a health care professional, who can evaluate the cause and recommend appropriate care."
And in general, "healthy aging is about more than simply avoiding disease," says Noorlander. "It's about maintaining the physical and mental abilities that allow us to stay independent, connected to others and involved in the things that give our lives meaning."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is intrinsic capacity – and why it matters more with age
