'My biological age is 30 years higher than my real age - and I had no idea'
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Whether or not you're a health buff or a Kardashian fan, there's a chance you've heard of biological age tests before. As showcased by reality TV's most famous family, the tests are increasingly popular, and it's easy to see why. Your biological age measures how well you're ageing, while your chronological age tells you how many birthdays you've had. When it comes to longevity and staying healthy, it's clearly advantageous to know what's really going on inside your body.
Perhaps most importantly, research suggests you can improve your biological age factors. How wonderful would it be to discover that all your efforts to lead a healthy lifestyle are paying off? Equally, if you need to improve your lifestyle, that's important information you'd likely want to know.
But what's it like to find out your biological age is much higher than it ought to be? In my experience, it's pretty frightening. Earlier this year, I set out to investigate my biological age by taking two different tests, and I could never have expected what happened next.
I was 24 at the time. I had no known health conditions and considered my lifestyle somewhat healthy. I knew my diet was poor because it was high in ultra-processed food, and my sleep and stress levels needed improvement, but other than that, I wasn't aware of any issues.
I don't smoke, I rarely drink, and I exercise regularly. In fact, the first biological age test I took returned positive results. I was offered the opportunity to try a PNOE metabolic breath test, which involved running on a treadmill wearing a mask to track my aerobic capacity, cardiovascular fitness, and fat-burning efficiency. On completion, the expert who put me through my paces said most of my results were around or above average, and my biological age came back as 22.
