Biological age and chronological age
- Advertising Marketing
- Jul 18
- 2 min read
What is the difference between biological age and chronological age?
Biological age is a measure of an organism's health and functional status compared to its chronological age, which is age measured in years. While chronological age is calculated simply by counting the years since a person's birth, biological age refers to how old an organism actually appears to be based on various factors related to its health and physical and biological functioning.
Chronological age only takes into account the effect of the passage of time and is determined exclusively by the date of birth. On the other hand, biological age is the wear and tear that our body has suffered throughout life and that depends, to a large extent, on lifestyle. Let's take an example to understand this better: two people born on the same day of the same year. The first is a smoker, has a sedentary lifestyle, lives in a city with high levels of environmental pollution and follows an unhealthy diet rich in animal fats, sugars and ultra-processed foods, while the second exercises daily, eats mainly fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, algae and seeds and lives in the countryside far from urban pollution. Well, although they both have the same chronological age, they probably appear very different ages.
Phenotypic age is a concept that refers to a person's appearance and physical and biological condition in relation to their chronological age. Unlike biological age, which focuses on specific indicators of health and biological functioning, phenotypic age is based on a general assessment of a person's appearance and physical condition. This can include aspects such as skin elasticity, bone density, the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, the health of hair and nails, and others.
Would you like to be able to reverse your biological age?
This is possible, according to an article published in BBC Science Focus, in which, with simple actions, backed by science, you can slow, stop, or even reverse the aging process.
Approximately 30% of the natural aging process is determined by genetic inheritance, but the remaining 70% is up to us and we can modify it in order to slow down our biological clock.