"Everyone puts 'longevity' on their brochure. What can I write, and what will eventually come back to bite me?"

The short answer

Write what you measure and what you make available, never what it will do to the guest's body. European law already requires a factual claim to be proven, and the market is starting to spot the ones that cannot be.

The calculation or the proof

The word exists. The Global Wellness Institute itself points to the growing risk of "longevity washing": longevity used as marketing packaging rather than as an outcome.

The best-selling tools are fragile. Epigenetic clocks, often presented as a "biological age", show differences of up to 9 years between two analyses of the same sample, from technical noise alone. Higgins-Chen et al., 2022.

The law is clear. The European Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC) allows authorities to require a trader to prove the accuracy of their factual claims, and to treat them as inaccurate if the proof is lacking (Article 12). It prohibits in all circumstances "falsely claiming that a product is able to cure illnesses, dysfunction or malformations" (Annex I, point 17).

For what is eaten or drunk, Regulation 1924/2006 only allows health claims that comply with its rules, neither false, ambiguous nor misleading (Article 3), and prohibits any reference to the rate or amount of weight loss (Article 12). A longevity menu in the restaurant is concerned.

What we cannot claim

We do not state the law in place of a lawyer. Every wording a hotel publishes is reviewed with its adviser, in its country.

We do not say that a word is forbidden in itself. "Longevity" is not. It is the promise attached to it that creates the commitment.

We only say that a health promise will have to be proven.

What a hotel can do now

What we refuse to write, and what we write instead.

• "A room that regenerates your body." Replaced by: "A measured room: CO2 at night, noise, evening light, temperature, readings displayed."
• "Our red light treats your pain." Replaced by: "A red light panel made available, with its usage sheet."
• "A breakfast that makes you lose weight." Replaced by: "A breakfast with no added sugar, rich in protein."
• "Leave ten years younger." No replacement: we do not write it.

Three writing rules for teams. A shared vocabulary: "made available", "measured", "guided", never "treats", "regenerates", "rejuvenates". Every public statement refers to a measurement or a piece of equipment. Every published figure carries its date.

The audit report delivers this wording ready to publish, for the website, social media and booking platforms.

What the Living Lab measures

The Living Lab, near Lisbon, applies the rule to itself before applying it to others. Every article in this journal separates what is established, emerging or unsupported, and states what we refuse to write.

Measurement planned: every statement on the pages of the io8.pt website linked to its measurement or its source, and the list published here with its date.

Sources

• Directive 2005/29/CE du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 11 mai 2005 relative aux pratiques commerciales déloyales des entreprises vis-à-vis des consommateurs, article 12 et annexe I, point 17. eur-lex.europa.eu
• Règlement (CE) n° 1924/2006 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 20 décembre 2006 concernant les allégations nutritionnelles et de santé portant sur les denrées alimentaires, articles 3 et 12. eur-lex.europa.eu
• Global Wellness Institute. Where Wellness Meets Longevity: A Global View with Anna Bjurstam, 2025. globalwellnessinstitute.org
• Higgins-Chen AT et al. A computational solution for bolstering reliability of epigenetic clocks: implications for clinical trials and longitudinal tracking. Nat Aging, 2022. doi:10.1038/s43587-022-00248-2

Also from the founder

Question 46 · What exactly do you promise?

Question 47 · Why refuse to promise a result?

The longevity audit for venues  ·  The Research Journal

IO8 Living Lab, near Lisbon. Measured, never promised.

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