Your biological age score adds little beyond how you move and feel
☕ Includes a question for the family ↓
Biological age testsPart of a story we are following · 2 articles · See every update
You don’t need to pay for a biological age test to learn something useful about your health. A new study of older adults found that how you walk, think and feel tells doctors more than a blood-based biological age score does.
The score did carry a small signal about how long people lived. But everyday function carried more, and it’s something you can check yourself, for free.
How the study worked
Researchers looked at adults aged 60 or older in two large surveys, one in the US (NHANES, 2011-2014) and one in China (CHARLS, 2011-2020). They calculated a biological age score from 12 blood and body markers, the same way in both groups. Then they compared it with a score of everyday function in four areas: moving around, energy, mood and thinking. The work appeared in Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics on Sept. 9, 2026. Because it followed people over time without changing anything, it shows links, not cause and effect.
What they found
In the US group (2,348 people, 406 deaths), a faster biological age was linked to a higher chance of dying during the study. The link for everyday function was much stronger. The numbers were 1.206 for biological age and 1.798 for function, where a bigger number means a stronger link.
In the China group, biological age was not linked to new trouble with daily activities such as dressing or managing money. Everyday function was linked to both. Biological age was linked to deaths in that group too, with a number of 1.109. That link got weaker after the researchers accounted for more health details. Putting both groups together gave 1.133, a small link.
The most useful result: adding the biological age score on top of the everyday function measures did not consistently improve predictions. In plain words, once you know how someone moves, feels and thinks, the blood-based score tells you little more.
What does “biological age” mean here?
It’s the gap between the age your blood and body markers suggest and your actual age. This study used one specific method that combines 12 markers. Other tests, such as ones based on DNA, were not part of it.
What you can do today
Try a quick strength check at home. Sit in a sturdy chair, cross your arms over your chest and stand up and sit down five times. Time it, write the number on a sticky note and repeat it next month to see how you’re doing.
Talk about it at home
Scientists wanted to know if a number made from blood tests tells us more about a person’s health than simple things like how well they move, how much energy they have, how they feel and how they think. It is a bit like judging a bike: you could read a long report about its parts, or you could just watch how it rolls down the street. They found that watching how the bike rolls told them more.
Question for the table
How could you find out whether a bike’s report card or a short test ride tells you more about the bike, and why would it help to check many bikes instead of just one?
Keep exploring
Copies this article and its questions so you can paste them into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or the AI you use, and keep the conversation going.
Questions and answers
- What is biological age acceleration?
- It's the gap between the age your blood and body markers suggest and your actual age. This study used a method that combines 12 markers.
- Did biological age predict death?
- A little. Combining both groups gave a small link of 1.133. Everyday function showed a stronger link in the US group.
- Was biological age better than checking how people function?
- No. Adding it to measures of moving, energy, mood and thinking did not consistently improve predictions.
- Does this apply to DNA-based tests?
- Not necessarily. The study tested only one blood-based method, so other tests may behave differently.
