What Is Your Real Age?

Posted Tuesday, September 11, 2007 to PROCEDURES > Anti-Aging

Posted by The Original Anti-Aging & Cosmetic Surgery Magazine

Why is it that when you run into people of your age some of them look better than you & some worse? Holly O'Neill investigates how you can find out what your "real age" is.

Why do people of the same chronological age look vastly different? Some people are blessed with good genetics, you may say.That is certainly true but is only a part of it. Scientists once believed that aging was largely determined by genetics. Now it is estimated genetic factors account for about 30% of a person's longevity, and that health behaviors account for about 70%.

A site on the Internet could be the key to determining your "real age" - how to look your best and how to live longer. www.realage.com is a site devised by Dr Michael Roizen, also the author of a book RealAge: Are You As Young As You Can Be? It can help evaluate your real age, not just your chronological age, assessing all the factors of your lifestyle. For example, smoking adds on years to your real age, but regular exercise removes years from your real age. It is known some health choices can slow and even reverse the rate of aging. There are in fact 44 factors that are shown to promote age reduction. By choosing to implement even a few in your lifestyle you could dramatically lower your real age. Even choices made late in life make a difference.

The RealAge web site has 16 different interactive programs. The RealAge quiz can be taken in intervals, as long as the user doesn't forget their log-in password, this way they can update information at any time. "The value of this is it gives you a personalized age reduction plan," explains Dr Roizen. The web site tells you what your current real age is and gives suggestions for reducing it. It also shows you the effects of the suggestions over 90 days and three years. The book also offers solutions. "The RealAge book tells you how to implement changes so they are complementary, rather than conflicting or competitive," explains Dr Roizen.

Dr Roizen states there are three components that contribute to aging: aging of the cardiovascular system, aging of the immune system and aging caused by accidents and environmental factors. A large portion of these factors are avoidable. Dr Roizen believes 70% of arterial aging is preventable and 80% of all accidents are avoidable. The fact is, to a large extent, each individual controls the rate at which they age.

What is the RealAge Test?

The comprehensive questionnaire gathers the data necessary to calculate your "real age". This questionnaire is divided into seven sections: general health, lifestyle and safety, medical history, nutrition, physical activities, stress and social support, and medications.
A report on factors and behaviors that are reducing your "real age" is generated after you have completed the questionnaire.
An age reduction strategy and nutritional analysis are tailored to your health and behavior profile. Choose different health behaviors to see which combinations will help you grow "younger" sooner.