Do Your Chronological And Biological Ages Match? How To Calculate Your Personal Health Scorecard

Did you know your body might be aging faster than you are? The concept of 'body age' (biological age) refers to being older or younger than your real age (chronological age). These two types of ages measure the health of your cells, and are key to measuring long-term health and longevity. The main question lies in assessing whether your biological age can be older than your chronological age. Yes, it can be if you have an unhealthy lifestyle (poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, excessive stress), your biological age might be older than your real age based on your actual birth date. Read on to find out how simple lifestyle changes based on science can help you stay biologically younger and live longer.

Real Age Vs Body Age

To know how real age and body age differ, it's crucial to understand what each of these terms actually means.

Real Age (Chronological age): This is the number of years that you have been alive, and calculated on the basis of your birth day, month and year.

Body Age (Biological age): This is a complex assessment of your health, in terms of your cells, tissues, and systems. Here are the biomarkers that measure the aging of the human body:

Biological age calculator: A trustworthy tool to measure how old your body is at a specific point in time. This will help in assessing the real health conditions based on the matching biological age.

In order to measure the exact number of your biological and chronological age, a personal health scorecard can be made based on logging important information about your health, lifestyle, wellness, and many other aspects. To understand this, it is important to know what a personal health scorecard looks is and how to get one made for yourself.

What Is A Personal Health Scorecard?

This scorecard is not a single, universally standardized medical calculation, but rather a concept. This is used by health organizations and online tools to give you a summarized risk assessment. Like a compilation of several common health metrics.

You can often calculate your risk for specific health conditions based on your score on the health scorecard. This process typically pulls data from several common health metrics that determine the susceptibility to develop diseases. The health scorecard calculates your risk for specific health issues using public tools like:

• Cardiovascular risk calculators: Tools by The American Heart Association's 'PREVENT' Online Calculator or the European Society of Cardiology 'SCORE2', which uses factors like age, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol levels HDL (good cholesterol/Total Cholesterol), diabetes status, and smoking status to estimate your 10-year risk of heart attack or stroke.
• Body Mass Index: This simple measure of your height and weight offers an assessment to judge the likelihood of developing certain health conditions and diseases.

 Note: Body Mass Index has limitations, biases, and is subject to various factors that influence its perception and calculations.

• BMI Calculator: The body mass index calculator measures a person's leaniness and the state of being fat based on their height and weight.
• Lifestyle and Wellness Assessments: Many health and wellness apps or programs create a score based on your self-reported data on diet, exercise frequency, sleep quality, and mental health. These diverse health metrics offer a comprehensive look at the overall health condition. There is a simple way to create your very own personal health scorecard by logging in data on your biomarkers, lifestyle, and family history.

How To Create A Personal Health Scorecard?

The personal health scorecard makes sure that the comprehensive data about your complete health is organized and segmented. And it is categorized into easy-to-understand information, making it digestible and action-worthy:

• Biometric Data: Blood pressure, normal cholesterol (lipid profile), blood sugar, and body composition (body mass index, waist circumference).
• Lifestyle Factors: Diet quality, physical activity level, smoking/alcohol use.
• Family History: History of chronic diseases (heart disease, diabetes, cancer) in the immediate family.

Please note: Always consult a healthcare professional for a complete and accurate health assessment.

The scorecard for assessment of personal health is an initiative that ensures that achieving overall health and well-being is on the right track. This is the foundation to judge your biological and chronological age, and compare the disparity. And assess where you need to focus your attention and make the right decision for your health. The assessment from a personal health scorecard can provide a true picture of your health. This can help in implementing health tips to make the two ages match or even decrease the biological age to decelerate aging.

Disclaimer: This content, including advice, provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

Reference:

Decker, K. (2016). RealAge: Are You As Young As You Can Be? Sematic Scholar