Find me a woman who doesn’t want to be judged as younger than the candles on her birthday cake. I will openly admit, I’m tickled pink if someone shaves a few years (any number will do at this point) off my chronological age. But now, stripped of the visual trickery of make-up or the well-intentioned flattery of a friend, I’m about to learn my “real” age: My biological age. Heart racing, I’m acutely aware that science might tell me that my candle is burning faster than the actual years I’ve walked the earth. Because those two things do not necessarily match up.
“Our biological age takes into account our chronological age, but then adds factors that influence the ageing process, such as healthy or harmful habits, and genetic predisposition,” says nutrition and exercise scientist Amelia Phillips, (). “Even in a predominantly healthy country like Australia we have huge health challenges – such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular health – that age us faster than our years.”
