WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW YOUR “FITNESS AGE”?
You know your chronological age, but how about your “fitness age”? Studies of fitness and lifespan suggest that a person’s fitness age, which is primarily a measure of cardiovascular endurance, might be a better predictor of longevity than chronological age.
Your body’s capacity to transport and use oxygen during exercise is based on the concept of VO2 max, which is the most precise measure of overall cardiovascular fitness.
Here’s more information on how your fitness age is measured and what it says about your lifespan excerpted from the July 17, 2015 issue of Dr. Mercola’s Natural Health Newsletter titled: How Fit Are You, Really?
If your VO2 max is below average compared to other people your age, it means your fitness age is actually greater than your chronological age.
On the other hand, a better-than-average VO2 max could mean your fitness age is younger than your age in years. Even better, it’s possible to improve your VO2 max, which means your fitness age can actually get younger as you get older.
Woman runner with mask running on treadmill machine testing her VO2 max.
The primary problem with using VO2 max to gauge your longevity is that very few people know what theirs is, and finding out typically requires high-tech testing on a treadmill.
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, however, were able to develop an algorithm based on the aerobic capacity, waist circumferences, heart rate, and exercise habits of nearly 5,000 people. This has yielded a method for estimating, quite accurately, a person’s VO2 max.
Next, the researchers explored whether or not VO2 max actually correlated with lifespan. They analyzed the VO2 max, fitness age, and chronological age of more than 55,000 adults and found a strong association.
Those with the worst readings for VO2 max (15 percent or more below the average for their age, which means they had a high fitness age) had an 82 percent higher risk of dying prematurely than those whose fitness age was the same as, or lower than, their chronological age.
The Norwegian authors believe that fitness age may predict premature death better than risk factors like being overweight, having high blood pressure or smoking.
Older Athletes Have Impressively Young Fitness Ages
If you’re looking for some motivation to get up and get moving, consider this: when researchers measured the fitness ages of athletes competing in the National Senior Games (commonly known as the Senior Olympics), the older athletes routinely measured decades younger than their chronological ages.
Scientists determined the fitness ages of more than 4,200 senior athletes. While the average chronological age was 68, the average fitness age was 43.
How Fit Are You? Take This Online Test to Find Out
If you’re wondering how the senior athletes’ fitness ages were calculated, and want to figure out your own, you’re in luck. The Norwegian researchers created an online calculator that was used by the senior athletes and which you can use yourself. HERE’S THE LINK:
By inputting just a bit of information (such as your age, gender, waist size, height, and exercise habits), it will estimate your level of fitness, giving you both your VO2 max and fitness age.
I’m 74 years old. I took the test twice, answering just one of the questions differently each time: How hard do you train? The first time I answered: I go all out—and the calculator said my fitness age was that of a normal 33 year old. Wow! The second time I answered: A little hard breathing & sweating—and the calculator said it was that of a normal 45 year old. Quite a difference! Because for different exercises and on different days I do one or the other, I’m just going to average the two and say my fitness age is that of a normal 39 year old.
When you calculate your fitness age, if you don’t like what you see, the good news is that you can change it. Dr. Ulrik Wisloff, professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said, “Thankfully, this age can be altered,” if your fitness age is not as low as you would like “just exercise.”