What Your Biological Age Can’t Tell You

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What Your Biological Age Can’t Tell You

If getting older wasn’t already fraught with expectations for women (what isn’t?), there's another number wellness culture wants you to worry about: your biological age. Unlike your chronological age, this measures the age of your cells. The ongoing longevity conversation or the most recent season of The Kardashians might have made you want to discover yours — and a Google search will give you pages of home tests and questionnaires promising you the magic number. 

One problem: Your biological age probably isn’t an accurate measurement of your health — and might be just another reason for women to feel pressured to change.

What does the research say?

Biological age is part of a growing field of study around longevity. In an ideal world, the number would help inform your medical treatment and screenings for age-related diseases, says Nir Barzilai, MD, a professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine who researches longevity. But since it’s still being researched, we're simply not there yet.

“I tested myself … and I'm anywhere between 20 years younger than my age to four years older than my age,” says Barzilai. There are also factors out of your control that impact your biological age — genetics, your environment, what parts of your body age faster — that tests might not take into account. 

Even if you could get an accurate age, it’s unclear if you can do anything to change it, says Barzilai. So obsessing over yet another number probably won’t improve your overall health. That’s especially notable for women, who are often conditioned to place their value on their age.

Your move

Instead of fixating on the number, Barzilai says focusing on your overall well-being is a better way to “optimize” your health — and potentially slow down biological aging. You know the drill: Eat well, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. Also consider:

• Managing stress. Some research found that people who are more resilient to stress avoid some of the biological aging it can cause. 

• Discussing your family medical history with your doctor to be proactive about conditions you may be at risk for.

Last week, we asked you to vote on a question to answer. The winner was:

Is it healthier to let your pubic hair grow out or get rid of it?

FEATURED EXPERT:

Kristen Venuti, MD

A board-certified OB-GYN at Northwestern Medical Group

There's no “healthier” option, says Venuti “It’s a personal preference based on what is comfortable for you.” But there are some factors to consider:

• Skin sensitivity: Trimming or growing it out is less irritating or painful than waxing or shaving. 

• Ingrown hairs: Waxing over time could help reduce the number of hair follicles, which can reduce long-term risks of ingrown hair, says Venuti.

• Protection: Some data shows pubic hair could reduce your risk of infection “by keeping dirt and bacteria away from the vagina,” Venuti explains.

Here’s one more factor you might want to take into account.

Every five minutes

That’s how frequently a woman is diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer — which includes cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar — in the US.^† So in honor of Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month (which is happening *checks watch* now), we’re teaming up with GSK to encourage more women to take five minutes to learn more and spread awareness. The symptoms and risk factors are a bit different for each cancer, but they’ve broken it all down so you can help take care of you and your loved ones. Head here to get started.

^†Source: The Foundation for Women’s Cancer

Follow: Nicole Lippman-Barile, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist

Why we follow: Lippman-Barile isn't afraid to call out misinformation about the relationships between mental health, diet, and exercise online. Including that diet and exercise can't "cure" anxiety or depression, and there's nothing wrong with medications that genuinely help you. Evidence-based info? In wellness culture? Groundbreaking.

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