As a person ages, various cells and tissues in their body become damaged.
Depending on the amount of damage, the body may take on characteristics of a certain age that’s not relative to the number of years they’ve lived.
For instance, a person may look older or look younger or feeling body aches and pains.
These are biological factors that diet, exercise, genes, the environment, and quality of life often influence.
These factors reveal a person’s biological age.
Scientists are conducting more research that examines biological age versus chronological age.
As a result, they are obtaining a better understanding of the benefits of biological age.
The scientists are using it more often as a measure to identify a person’s real age as well as their longevity.
Researchers are determining how our biological age can provide substantive insights into the aging process, interventions that help slow the aging process, and ways to reverse the aging process.
Chronological Age vs. Biological Age
“How old are you?” It’s a question that’s asked, but do we really know?
Determining the actual age of a person requires taking a look at two indicators of age: chronological age and biological age.
When a person answers questions about their age, they usually provide a number associated with the years that have passed since their birth.
This calculation results in their chronological age.
Calendar days, months, and years determine the amount, and it’s a number that does not change.
As a result, it is used to assess risk factors for chronic diseases, mortality, and changes in bodily functions, such as memory loss.
Chronological age marks prestigious developmental milestones followed by “coming of age” rituals.
For example, at the age of 12 and 13, Jewish boys and girls celebrate Bar and Bat Mitzvahs; young girls in Central and South America celebrate their quinceanera once they turn 15; and, the age of adulthood often begins at 18 years of age in many countries.
When people reach milestones later in life, such as ages 50 and 65, some of them will say they feel their age while others say they’ve never felt better or younger.
So what’s the difference?
Our biological age tells us about our actual physical well-being and our body’s resilience. It reveals how our bodily tissues, systems, and organs age.
It can help us to understand our specific aging process and could potentially enable us to extend our lives.
For example, a 50-year-old runner may live three years longer compared to someone who is the same age and less active since running can help increase heart health and improve other bodily functions.
A 50-year-old smoker’s lung capacity may resemble that of an 80-year-old as a result of chemicals found in cigarettes, like nicotine and carbon dioxide.
These chemicals accumulate and damage the lungs.
Our biological age doesn’t always match our chronological age.
Inactivity can increase a person’s biological age.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that older women who sat 10 hours a day were biologically older than women of the same age who were less sedentary.
The researchers analyzed 1,500 women from ages 64 to 95.
The researcher’s study, which the American Journal of Epidemiology published, found that when these women participated in less than 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day and remained sedentary for 10 hours, their telomeres shortened.
What is My Biological Age?
Biological age is an actionable health metric that’s presently increasing in value among scientists.
Researchers are determining the age through telomere lengths, DNA methylation, and new technologies.
Telomeres are the caps found on the tips of chromosomes.
Scientists will often associate them with the tiny tips of plastic caps at the end of shoelaces.
These “caps” help protect chromosomes from deteriorating.
Telomeres shorten due to age and unhealthy lifestyle factors.
Shortened and frayed telomeres may lead to age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and primary cancers.
Research studies have correlated DNA methylation with age and age-related outcomes.
DNA methylation is a process that involves the addition of methyl groups on DNA nucleotides.
A nucleotide consists of a phosphate group, a 5-carbon sugar, and a nitrogenous base.
When methyl groups attach, they can change the way genes function and their expression.
The process influences activities like gene regulation, chromosome stability, and genomic imprinting, which is the expression of a gene depending upon the sex of the parent who contributed the gene.
Scientists can determine biological age by looking at highly reproducible DNA methylation changes at specific locations within the genome.
When the methylation is abnormal, it can lead to several age-related diseases.
Research on Biological Aging
Research at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging sponsored by Ponce De Leon Health showed promising results in improving DNA methylation in mammalian studies using a proprietary sustained release formula of Ca-AKG called Rejuvant LifeTabs.
An article published in Nursing Outlook looked at the patterns of DNA methylation as an indicator of biological aging and how it can influence precision health.
Researchers found that numerous algorithms estimate biological age using DNA methylation markers. These algorithms help predict the risk of disease and death and precursors to age acceleration and could aid precision health initiatives.
Technology is making strides in the determination of a more accurate chronological and biological age.
Artificial intelligence and large datasets are increasing the variety of biomarkers that help predict age.
A combination of these biomarkers can provide better insights into the aging process.
Some additional indicators include blood tests for biological age that look at the aging of vital organs and examining aortic stiffness.
Learn more about how Rejuvant LifeTabs supports biological aging.
Interested in Knowing Your Biological Age?
To determine the true biological age, epigenetics approach is proven to be the most precise.
Until recently, epigenetic testing was conducted only by research institutions due to high costs and very invasive sample collection procedures.
TruMe has developed the first-ever direct to consumer epigenetic test (TruAge Index) with the super easy sample collection procedure.
Now anyone can submit their DNA for analysis to determine how old their body is and receive a recommendation on how to reverse or slow down aging through a simple saliva test.
Conclusion
Researchers have indicated that while age-related changes are inevitable, many of these changes are associated with our activity and inactivity.
Our biological age can give us invaluable insights and further context regarding what’s really occurring within our bodies and how we have used our bodies.
Researchers believe that our biological age can change by decades based upon activity and behavioral changes, such as adjusting our amount of sleep and exercise, the foods we eat, and the amount of stress we experience in our daily lives.
The more biological aging is understood, the more it can support new and unique innovations as well as strategies related to retirement and financial planning, medications, health and life insurance, and health coaching.
Ultimately, knowing our biological age helps us to adjust our lifestyles so we can increase our lifespan and achieve better health outcomes.
Adopting good habits early in life, such as exercising often and eating healthy can help us to live longer. However, it’s not too late to incorporate these changes into your lifestyle, whether your age 50 or 80.
Sources:
UCLA Health, Healthy Years, News Briefs “Chronological Age Doesn’t Always Match Biological Age” July 2017 Jonathan Wanagat, MD PhD Editor in Chief, UCLA Division of Geriatrics
The clock is ticking: Toward biomarkers for aging? MLO Online.com Alan Lenhoff, Editor
Investigators at Yonsei University Discuss Findings in Gender and Health (Biological age as a useful index to predict seventeen-year survival and mortality in Koreans) Date: Feb. 16, 2017 From: Women’s Health Weekly
Is your chronological age keeping up with your biological age? Date: Sept. 28, 2016 From: Business Mirror (Makati City, Philippines)
Infant’s DNA Methylation Age at Birth and Epigenetic Aging Accelerators Ruheena Javed,1 Weidan Chen,2 Fangqin Lin,1 and Huiying Liang1 Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2016, Article ID 4515928, 10 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4515928
DNA changes accelerate body’s ageing process Date: Sept. 2, 2019 From: European Union News Publisher: Plus Media Solutions
New Geriatrics and Gerontology Findings Has Been Reported by Investigators at University of Birmingham (Major Trauma and Acceleration of the Ageing Process) Date: June 22, 2019From: Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week Publisher: NewsRX LLC
Your chronological age only says so much about your health Author: Gabriella Boston Date: Mar. 26, 2019 From: The Washington Post
Deep Aging Clocks: The emergence of AI-based biomarkers of aging and longevity Date: July 17, 2019 From: Biotech Week Publisher: NewsRX LLC
Research Results from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Update Knowledge of Biomarkers (Quantification of biological age as a determinant of age-related diseases in the Rotterdam Study: a structural equation modeling approach) Date: July 16, 2019 From: Cancer Weekly Publisher: NewsRX LLC
You May Be Only as Old as You Feel Author: Emily Laber-Warren Date: Oct. 22, 2019 From: The New York Times Publisher: The New York Times
Studies from Charite University Hospital and School of Medicine in the Area of Geriatrics and Gerontology Reported [Epigenetic Clock and Relative Telomere Length Represent Largely Different Aspects of Aging In the Berlin Aging Study Ii (Base-ii)] Date: May 3, 2019From: Health & Medicine Week Publisher: NewsRX LLC
Reports Summarize Geriatrics and Gerontology Findings from the University of Southern Denmark (Parallel progress in perceived age and life expectancy) Date: May 3, 2019 From: Health & Medicine Week Publisher: NewsRX LLC
Is your chronological age keeping up with your biological age? Date: Sept. 28, 2016 From: Business Mirror (Makati City, Philippines) Biological age is a universal marker of aging, stress, and frailty Timothy V. Pyrkov, Peter O. Fedichev doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/578245
