Ever wondered what impact your diet and lifestyle choices have had on your health? Take our free and simple test to find out.
If you’re looking to transform your health this year, then knowing your current state of wellbeing is a great place to start.
As part of our Health of the Nation campaign, we’ve created a Real Age Calculator to help you determine where you sit based on your current lifestyle choices.
The calculator has been developed based on methodologies used by the Mayo Clinic and World Health Organisation and leverages a frailty index to estimate an individual’s health age (biological) compared to their real age (chronological).
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What is your health age?
Your health age considers all the biological factors that make up your health, not just the number of years you’ve been alive.
To figure out your health age, the calculator considers factors known to influence wellbeing: diet, exercise, sleep, lifestyle factors such as smoking and drinking, and other medical considerations.
You will be asked to answer a series of questions and each response is assigned a weighted score. You will then receive a frailty index score based on the sum of these weighted scores.
What do the scores mean?
The frailty index score is used to estimate an individual’s health age (biological). If the score suggests healthier choices, the health age may be lower than the real age.
Conversely, if the score reflects poor health habits, the biological age may be higher than the chronological age.
Little changes can add years to your life. While the tool provides an indicative measure of our health age, it does not take into account genetic factors that can only be detected through blood tests.
Try the Real Age Calculator
What your results mean
A) Biological age younger than chronological age
Great work! Your health is considered better than a person of your chronological age.
Keep doing what you’re doing: eat lots of vegetables, keep exercising and get enough sleep.
B) Biological age is the same as chronological age
Not bad! If your biological age is the same as your chronological age, you’re progressing at the expected rate.
However, that doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement. Increase the amount of vegetables in your diet, and be sure to do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day.
C) Biological age 5-10 years older than chronological age
Cut back on drinking and smoking and try to lose some weight. We suggest getting a blood test to check cholesterol and blood sugar and ask your doctor to check your blood pressure. Review your family history of disease, and see what you can do to mitigate poor health in the future.
D) Biological age 10-15 years older than chronological age
Go to your GP to test for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and advice on aggressive weight loss and exercise intervention. Consider meal replacement programs and engage a nutritionist and trainer, alongside your GP, to create a healthcare plan.
E) Biological age 15-plus years older than chronological age
Go to your GP as soon as you can. A medical assessment is essential to check for undetected disease. Aggressive intervention including weight loss medications may be needed.
Join the free 8-week Health Club with Sam Wood
Looking to turn your health around? Why not start with Sam Wood’s free eight-week fitness and nutrition program?
The program is designed to kick-start the change many of us so desperately need, and set habits that last a lifetime, starting now.
The Health Club is free to join, with no credit card required. All you need to do is sign up at 28 by Sam Wood and agree to the terms and conditions (which includes a marketing consent). It starts February 5 and ends March 31 so sign up in time to get the full 8 weeks.
Use the Real Age Calculator at the start, during and at the end of the Health Club program, to measure your results along the way.
Interested? Find out more here.
The Health of the Nation Health Club is free and open to all Australians. No credit card required. Starts February 5, 2024, and runs for eight weeks only. Access is available only via sign-up on 28bysamwood platforms. Participants must agree to full terms and conditions (which includes a marketing consent) upon sign-up at app.28bysamwood.com/claim/health-club.
Health of the Nation is presented by Woolworths and supported by a2 Milk and rebel.